scamperscam‧per /ˈskæmpə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] 
Word Origin Examples
Word OriginWORD ORIGINscamper
Verb TableOrigin:
1600-1700 Probably from early Dutch schampen ‘to run away’, from Old French escamper, from Vulgar Latin excampare ‘to leave camp’, from Latin campus; ➔ CAMP1VERB TABLE
scamper
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | scamper |
| he, she, it | scampers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | scampered |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have scampered |
| he, she, it | has scampered | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had scampered |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will scamper |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have scampered |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am scampering |
| he, she, it | is scampering | |
| you, we, they | are scampering | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was scampering |
| you, we, they | were scampering | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been scampering |
| he, she, it | has been scampering | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been scampering |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be scampering |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been scampering |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Children were scampering and wrestling in the playground.
- Jenny scampered off in excitement to set up the game.
- The monkeys scampered down the tree, anxious to investigate what was happening on the ground.
- Closer by, red foxes scamper along Further Lane and deer browse near the front door.
- From inside I heard scampering, then silence.
- He scampered up the outer staircase and disappeared into the hall.
- One day we scampered up a hill for a more extensive view, through fields of berries and bright-purple fireweed.
- Sam scampered on ahead of them and waited at Dobbs' field.
- Sammy scampered leisurely in front of him while he stopped intermittently to pick up sweet chestnuts on the way.
- She hurried downstage and scampered down the makeshift gangway to the auditorium floor.
- She turned around and scampered back across the footpath to the gate, squeezed under and crept to the dish.
Longman Language Activatorto run with short quick steps► scurry
Collocations to run with short quick steps, especially when you need to move quickly to escape from danger: scurry away/about/along etc: · We used to hear rats and mice scrurrying around in the attic at night.· His aides scurried about, murmuring to each other in Russian.
► scamper to run with very short quick steps, especially when running in a group and often in a playful way: scamper away/down/up etc: · The monkeys scampered down the tree, anxious to investigate what was happening on the ground.· Children were scampering and wrestling in the playground.· Jenny scampered off in excitement to set up the game.
► scuttle to run with short quick steps, especially to escape from something -- use this especially about small animals: scuttle across/out/past etc: · A loud bang sent all the crabs scuttling across the sand.· He spotted a cockroach as it scuttled out from under a bin bag.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► off
to run with quick short steps, like a child or small animal· At once the clown scampered off into the dark.· Jennifer scampered off to set up the game.· Why not just demand their valuables and scamper off?· The boy scampered off, well pleased, all his earlier anxiety and depression passed.· They scampered off, barking like the devil.
► up· She blew a kiss to Tunney, and scampered up a wall like a spider.· Her weedy children would scamper up to practice karate in the clearing of his property.· He scampered up the outer staircase and disappeared into the hall.· One day we scampered up a hill for a more extensive view, through fields of berries and bright-purple fireweed.· She scampered up the bank through the weeds to the footpath.· He marched along beside her, then scampered up the aluminum stairs.