scrum

Etymology

Either a back-formation from or an apocopic form of scrummage, a variant of scrimmage.

noun

1. A tightly-packed and disorderly crowd of people.
   A scrum developed around the bar when free beer was announced.
2. (Canada) A tightly packed group of reporters surrounding a person, usually a politician, asking for comments about an issue; an opportunity provided for a politician to be approached this way.
   A scrum formed around Scott Brison in the House of Commons lobby shortly after he announced his candidacy for the federal Liberal leadership.
3. (rugby) In rugby union or rugby league, all the forwards joined together in an organised way.
4. (software engineering) In Agile software development (specifically Scrum or related methodologies), a daily meeting in which each developer describes what they have been doing, what they plan to do next, and any impediments to progress.
5. Hostile shoving between two groups.
   [A] group of far-right lawmakers tried to mark Jerusalem Day by forcing their way into the street inhabited by the Palestinians listed for eviction. A group of leftist and Arab lawmakers blocked their path, setting off a brief scrum, before at least one far-right lawmaker ... broke through the Arabs' lines." May 11, 2021, Patrick Kingsley, Isabel Kershner, “After Raid on Aqsa Mosque, Rockets From Gaza and Israeli Airstrikes”, in New York Times

verb

1. (rugby, intransitive) To form a scrum.