scrabble
verb [intransitive] (especially British English)to try to find or to do something in a hurry or with difficulty, often by moving your hands or feet about quickly, without much control 忙乱地找；翻找；乱抓；乱动 - scrabble around/about for something
She scrabbled around in her bag for her glasses. 她在包里翻来翻去找眼镜。 - scrabble for something
He was scrabbling for a foothold on the steep slope. 他在陡坡上挣扎着乱蹬，想找个落脚的地方。 a sound like rats scrabbling on the other side of the wall 墙那面一种像老鼠乱抓的声音 - scrabble + adv./prep.
In his panic, he began scrabbling at the lock. 他慌慌张张地开始撬锁。 The kids scrabbled up the slope. 孩子们爬上斜坡。
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘make marks at random, scrawl’): from Middle Dutch schrabbelen, frequentative of schrabben ‘to scrape’.- scrabble around/about for something