Definitions

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

  • intransitive verb To go with light running steps; scamper.
  • intransitive verb To flurry or swirl about.
  • noun The act of scurrying.
  • noun The noise produced by scurrying.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Hurry; fluttering or bustling haste.
  • noun A flurry.
  • noun In sporting, a short race run for amusement by inferior horses or non-winners.
  • To hurry along; move hastily and precipitately; scamper.

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

  • noun Act of scurrying; hurried movement.
  • intransitive verb To hasten away or along; to move rapidly; to hurry.

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

  • verb To run away with quick light steps, to scamper.

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

  • noun rushing about hastily in an undignified way
  • verb to move about or proceed hurriedly

Etymologies

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

[Probably short for hurry-scurry.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Perhaps from hurry-skurry, a reduplication of hurry.

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Examples

  • It was impossible even for the enemy press and the various spokesmen and apologists of the racist regime to ignore the united actions of the African and Coloured youth in Cape Town whose mighty step down the streets of that city caused the racist white minority [to] scurry from the scene like frightened rats into their holes. 43

    'I Saw a Nightmare …' Doing Violence to Memory: The Soweto Uprising, June 16, 1976 2005

  • Randy, don’t you know that citing the text of the actual LAW, The Intelligence Identity Protection Act of 1982, makes the giddy leftist Bush haters scurry from the light like cockroaches?

    Think Progress » Fitzgerald 2005

  • ` The Thiefmaker tried to let a vaguely sincere expression scurry onto his face, where it froze in evident discomfort. '

    Archive 2006-07-02 Edward Willett 2006

  • ` The Thiefmaker tried to let a vaguely sincere expression scurry onto his face, where it froze in evident discomfort. '

    A visit to Thog's Masterclass Edward Willett 2006

  • I had just returned from a "scurry" among the Comanches of Western Texas, and the idea of "settling down" was as far from my mind as ever.

    The Rifle Rangers Mayne Reid 1850

  • I've been an AR member for a while, but just recently started blogging and commenting on other's posts ... and it can be "scurry".

    ActiveRain Real Estate Network Charita Cadenhead 2010

  • Friday: The sun remains front and center in the morning, but by afternoon, clouds start to scurry in on brisk west winds.

    Forecast: A Spring tease over next two days David Streit 2011

  • Morning smiles; the sun stares down with its big white eye and I scurry home in search for a dark crevice to press my body into.

    Johnny Mercer's Pier Paula Ray 2010

  • If I approached them, they would scurry into the woods, where they were impossible to find.

    Babies Gary Moshimer 2010

  • But a scurry of moccasins and loud cries, rounded off with a pistol-shot, interrupted the discussion.

    The Men of Forty Mile 2010

Comments

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  • Indian fast food favorite

    (Lewis M Gediman : Semantricks)

    January 8, 2009