Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To leave a scene at once; go abruptly.
  • intransitive verb To shut down automatically. Used of a nuclear reactor.
  • noun A rapid shutting down of a nuclear reactor, especially in an emergency.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb to shut down (a nuclear reactor) quickly, as in an emergency.
  • noun the rapid shut down of a nuclear reactor, as in an emergency.
  • intransitive verb informal to leave; to go away; used mostly as an impolite command to a person to go away from a specific location.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Get out of here; go away (frequently imperative).
  • verb transitive, intransitive To abruptly insert the control rods of a nuclear reactor, usually in case of emergency shutdown.
  • noun A rapid shutdown of a nuclear reactor
  • noun Alternative spelling of SCRAM.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb leave immediately; used usually in the imperative form

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps short for scramble.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Attested since 1928, originally as U.S. slang; either:

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Back-formation from SCRAM, most etymology are likely backronyms.

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Examples

  • Electrical problems yesterday grounded the so-called scram jet.

    CNN Transcript Nov 16, 2004 2004

  • O'BRIEN: NASA set a speed record on Saturday with the launch of the unmanned test aircraft called a scram jet.

    CNN Transcript Mar 29, 2004 2004

  • I didn't hear what she said, so didn't respond, but the person-of-few-words who worked the booth with me said, simply, "scram" and she hustled away.

    Balloon Juice 2010

  • Transformer damage caused the reactor to "scram" or automatically trip out of service Saturday night.

    Irene Knocks Out Power to More Than Five Million Rebecca Smith 2011

  • “No, you mook—you grab as many electric toothbrushes as you can, then we scram—got it?”

    The Great Toothbrush Robbery Con Chapman 2011

  • She pulled a switchblade on me, said if I didn't scram she was going to cut me seven ways to Sunday.

    Brick Wall Chris Okum 2011

  • What the people in these countries want is substantial change -- namely freedom and the heads of the regimes to pack their bags and scram.

    Dan Dorfman: Risky Roadmap to $7 a Gallon Gas Dan Dorfman 2011

  • "This kind of scram is stressful on the reactor," said Robert Albrecht , a University of Washington professor emeritus of electrical engineering, who has a background in nuclear engineering.

    Japan Plant Had Earlier Alert Chester Dawson 2011

  • What the people in these countries want is substantial change -- namely freedom and the heads of the regimes to pack their bags and scram.

    Dan Dorfman: Risky Roadmap to $7 a Gallon Gas Dan Dorfman 2011

  • I know 2 grad students who lost their TAs and 4 postdocs who were given Dec deadlines to scram.

    Economic Status via Google Hits Candid Engineer 2009

  • Whether you call it a bug-out bag, go bag, ready bag, to-go bag, scram bag, grab bag, or GOOD (“get out of Dodge”) bag, the important part is to have it “pre-prepared, in your home, ready to grab at any given moment,” according to survival instructor Creek Stewart (video).

    The Best Gear for Your Bug-Out Bag for 2018 2022

Comments

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  • Marcs in reverse. Marc is winemaking residue that can be used for distillation.

    November 2, 2007