sabotage
Americannoun
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any underhand interference with production, work, etc., in a plant, factory, etc., as by enemy agents during wartime or by employees during a trade dispute.
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any undermining of a cause.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the deliberate destruction, disruption, or damage of equipment, a public service, etc, as by enemy agents, dissatisfied employees, etc
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any similar action or behaviour
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sabotagesimple
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sabotagessimple
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have sabotagedperfect
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has sabotagedperfect
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am sabotagingprogressive
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are sabotagingprogressive
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is sabotagingprogressive
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have been sabotagingperfect progressive
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has been sabotagingperfect progressive
Past
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sabotagedsimple
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had sabotagedperfect
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was sabotagingprogressive
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were sabotagingprogressive
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had been sabotagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sabotage
First recorded in 1865–70; from French, from sabot(er) “to botch,” originally, “to harry, shake up, strike” (verb derivative of sabot sabot ) + -age -age
Explanation
Sabotage isn't very nice: It's when you ruin or disrupt something by messing up a part of it on purpose. Loosening the blades on your competitor's ice skates would definitely be considered sabotage. Sabotage comes from the French word saboter, which literally means “walk noisily.” That's funny, because the last thing you'd want to do when committing an act of sabotage is stomp around and get caught. It’s believed that sabotage came into use in 1910 as a noun, and then later in 1918 as a verb. Apparently, people only became so cruel in the last century or so.
Vocabulary lists containing sabotage
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
New proposed laws in the U.K. seek to increase penalties for subsea sabotage, updating codes that date to when telegraph cables were first laid in the 19th century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
The purpose is to transform accountability into victimhood and failure into sabotage.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the explosion would not affect the country's exports, adding "this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature".
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Germany moved to end its dependence on Russian energy, a transition made permanent when the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by sabotage in 2022.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Who would want to sabotage the talent show?
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Ms. Moyer-Nocchi repeatedly, bewilderingly sabotages her considerable achievements by not bothering to get small but significant particulars right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
“Psychological research has shown us that panic amplifies helplessness and sabotages rational thought,” Michael Valdez, an expert in neurology and addictive behaviors, told Salon.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
Ankara said the one-sided declaration was “a step that sabotages the normalization process.”
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024
It seems to mean well, even as it sabotages investor performance.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2024
"Then the Earthman—I mean the Earthman who sabotages the rockets—has to be a part of the technical staff," Rick said.
From The Scarlet Lake Mystery by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)
Africa's largest oil producer has increased production in recent years in part by cracking down on theft while also hiring former militants who sabotaged pipelines to act as security.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
German investigators trying to establish who sabotaged Nord Stream discovered the Andromeda in dry dock on the island of Rügen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Grantham’s latest bearish case is that U.S. stocks could be sabotaged this year by an overheated IPO market.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
The ex-Confederate Jefferson Davis managed to avoid trial for treason; a sympathetic prosecution deliberately sabotaged its own case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025
But the day before we were to meet, the South African government took a step that sabotaged whatever goodwill had been engendered by the Commonwealth visitors.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Barrot said the attacks targeted government ministries, companies, and service operators, with the aim "either of capturing information or sabotaging operations, for example rail infrastructure, as was the case in Poland".
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
This week I am looking at the big picture, sharing words of caution to avoid sabotaging future prospects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
But McLaughlin did not merely alienate the judiciary; she consistently undermined the administration’s legal arguments, sabotaging lawyers’ efforts to cover up unlawful conduct by boasting about it on social media.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2026
“We are sabotaging ourselves,” she said, adding: “You can’t address a housing crisis with a policy that worsens our housing shortage. You just can’t.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
Was I sabotaging my academic career over an abstract moral principle that mattered very little?
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
