1 C1 idiomatic informal
(British dialectal) To steal or gather fruit, especially apples, from someone's orchard
"The boys used to scrump up apples from the farm at the end of the lane every autumn."
inseparable
scrump up
C1 informal separable transitive
A rare, chiefly dialectal phrasal verb meaning either to screw or crumple something up, or (in British dialects) related to scrumping (stealing fruit)
In plain English
To crumple something up, or (in some British dialects) connected to stealing fruit from trees
What does "scrump up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 informal
(Dialectal) To crumple or scrunch something up into a compact shape
"She scrumped up the old letter and threw it in the bin."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To scrump (steal fruit) and gather it up — or to crumple something upward into a ball
Actually means
To crumple something up, or (in some British dialects) connected to stealing fruit from trees
Usage tip
Extremely rare as a standard phrasal verb. 'Scrumping' (stealing fruit from orchards, especially apples) is a well-known British dialectal term, but 'scrump up' as a full phrasal verb is highly marginal. Most speakers will not recognise it. Do not confuse with 'scrunch up'.
Words that pair with "scrump up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
apples fruit paper material
How to conjugate "scrump up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
scrump up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
scrumps up
he/she/it
Past simple
scrumped up
yesterday
Past participle
scrumped up
have + pp
-ing form
scrumping up
continuous
Hear "scrump up" in the wild
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