scuffle

Meaning

Noun

1. A rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters.
2. (slang) Poverty; struggle.
3. (archaic) A child's pinafore or bib.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters.
2. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait.
3. (slang) To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially.

Verb

To work the soil surface for weeding, etc.

Synonyms

fight

battle

struggle

action

tussle

brawl

skirmish

quarrel

fray

shuffle

scrimmage

squabble

combat

grapple

scrap

clash

conflict

affray

wrangle

scramble

melee

strife

rough-and-tumble

Dutch hoe

wrestle

tumult

scuffle hoe

brush

attempt

dogfight

hassle

contention

argue

fuss

free-for-all

altercation

stir

fighting

shamble

engagement

encounter

duel

riot

agitation

contest

row

coin

🪙

berate

clap

👏

clamour

Translations

Handgemenge

bagarre

strijd

zuffa

luta

Rauferei

pugna

gevecht

batalha

riña

rissa

combat

slag

treffen

Streit

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈskʌfəl/

Etymology

Cognate with Swedish: skuff

Cognate with Lithuanian: skùbti

Cognate with Polish: skubać

Cognate with Albanian: humb

In summary

Possibly of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”).