scrappy

Scrappy is an adjective used to describe someone or something marked by determined resilience or feistiness, especially when resources are limited. In this sense, a scrappy person is bold, enterprising, and willing to fight for a goal, often by clever or improvised means. In team sports and competitive contexts, a scrappy squad is one that wins through grit and persistent effort rather than by flashy skill alone. The term can also describe behavior that is improvised or hands-on, rather than polished.

A second sense conveys roughness, messiness, or low quality—something made from scraps or arranged haphazardly. In this usage, scrappy implies a lack of refinement rather than courage, as in a scrappy apartment, a scrappy piece of furniture, or a scrappy patchwork project.

Etymology: from scrap, fragment or leftover material; the -y suffix forms an adjective. The figurative sense of tenacity emerged in the 20th century and has become common in American English, especially in journalism, sports commentary, and business slang for small, resourceful ventures.

Synonyms include tenacious, feisty, plucky, and resourceful; antonyms include refined, polished, and suave. The term is generally neutral to positive when describing character or effort, but can be pejorative when emphasizing poor quality.