scramble

Scramble is a term with multiple meanings used as a verb and a noun. It denotes making something disordered or moving quickly in a disorganized way, and it can refer to physical actions, food preparation, military responses, games, sports, and information processing.

In cooking, to scramble eggs means to beat them with a whisk or fork and cook them gently until curds form; other ingredients can be scrambled similarly. Scrambled eggs contrast with fried or omelet preparations, and texture depends on heat, stirring, and moisture.

In aviation and military contexts, scramble denotes an alert procedure to ready aircraft for immediate takeoff, typically in response to a potential threat or mission. A scramble order or scramble alarm triggers rapid deployment of fighter jets.

In sports, especially American football, a quarterback may scramble by running with the ball, often when the designed pass play breaks down. It emphasizes improvisation and mobility rather than planned routes.

In games and puzzles, a word scramble is a puzzle in which letters of a word are rearranged to form a solution, sometimes with clues; players must unscramble to find the correct word. Scramble games appear in newspapers and educational software.

In information technology and communications, scrambling refers to techniques that reorder or randomize data to obscure content, reduce patterns, or protect privacy. This includes data scrambling in transmission and code or content scrambling as a form of obfuscation or copyright protection.