scrum

Everyday

1. In rugby, a way of restarting play in which players from each team pack together with arms linked, push against each other and try to win the ball with their feet. tree →
2. (informal) A crowd of people pushing to get somewhere or something. tree →
3. (work, computing) Scrum is a way teams of programmers plan work in short bursts called sprints. tree →

In the lessons

In sport, scrum is a key rugby word, popular in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, the UK and South Africa. In everyday talk, a scrum is the crush at the school gate or a sale. Phrases: scrum-half, a media scrum, scrum down.

Examples

• The two rugby teams packed down for a scrum. tree →
• The ball was fed into the scrum and our side won it. tree →
• There was a scrum at the canteen door when the bell went. tree →
• Photographers formed a scrum around the famous singer. tree →
• The scrum-half passed the ball out quickly. tree →
• In Scrum, the software team meets for a few minutes every day. tree →

Note

Countable. Short for scrummage. In rugby league and rugby union the scrum has different numbers of players (6 or 8 per side).