Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

scrabbly

 - 2 dictionary results

scrab⋅bly

[skrab-lee]
–adjective, -bli⋅er, -bli⋅est.
1. insignificantly small or sparse: scrabbly tufts of grass sprouting from the parched lawn.
2. scratchy; raspy.

Origin:
1940–45; scrabble + -y 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scrabbly
scrab·ble   (skrāb'əl)   
v.   scrab·bled, scrab·bling, scrab·bles

v.   intr.
  1. To scrape or grope about frenetically with the hands.

  2. To struggle by or as if by scraping or groping.

  3. To climb with scrambling, disorderly haste; clamber.

  4. To make hasty, disordered markings; scribble.

v.   tr.
  1. To make or obtain by scraping together hastily.

  2. To scribble on or over.

n.  
  1. The act or an instance of scrabbling.

  2. A scribble; a doodle.


[Dutch schrabbelen, from Middle Dutch, frequentative of schrabben, to scrape; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.]
scrab'bler n., scrab'bly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see scrabbly on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: