sabotage

[ sab-uh-tahzh, sab-uh-tahzh ]

/ ˈsæb əˌtɑʒ, ˌsæb əˈtɑʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sabotage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

any undermining of a cause.

verb (used with object), sab·o·taged, sab·o·tag·ing.

to injure or attack by sabotage.

Nearby words

sable, cape, sablefish, sabora, saboraim, sabot, sabotage, saboteur, sabra, sabre, sabre-rattling, sabre-toothed tiger

Origin of sabotage

1865–70; < French, equivalent to sabot(er) to botch, orig., to strike, shake up, harry, derivative of sabot sabot + -age -age

SYNONYMS FOR sabotage

3 disable, vandalize, cripple.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sabotage ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

un·sab·o·taged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sabotage

But was it necessary to try to sabotage her career and her book and spend hours of our own lives trying to make her life hell?
It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry?|Arthur Chu|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the Russian sabotage and provocation operations currently underway?
What to Do When Russia Invades Your Country|Eli Lake|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why the prime suspect is Pakistan—and the motive to sabotage any potential peace deal.
Taliban Peacemaker Agha Jan Motasim Locked Up|Jacob Siegel, Sami Yousafzai|April 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The truth is that Schwarzenegger is quite good in Sabotage, even if the rest of the movie isn't very good at all.
Is This the End of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comeback?|Andrew Romano|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And yet in Sabotage I could start to see a way forward for him.
Is This the End of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comeback?|Andrew Romano|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One or two accidents to the machinery lately looked like sabotage.
Dangerous Days|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The syndicalists strongly condemn any act of sabotage which may result in the loss of life.
Syndicalism in France|Louis Levine
There are those among the poor and the weak who preach arson, dynamite, and sabotage.
Violence and the Labor Movement|Robert Hunter
Then came the lean years: strikes and strike-breaking, sabotage and rioting, prison for Billy, and all but starvation for Saxon.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, January 7, 1914|Various
An intermediate form of sabotage is that known as sabotage bouche ouverte (sabotage of the open mouth).
Syndicalism in France|Louis Levine

British Dictionary definitions for sabotage

sabotage

/ (ˈsæbəˌtɑːʒ) /

noun

the deliberate destruction, disruption, or damage of equipment, a public service, etc, as by enemy agents, dissatisfied employees, etc

any similar action or behaviour

verb

(tr) to destroy, damage, or disrupt, esp by secret means

Word Origin for sabotage

C20: from French, from saboter to spoil through clumsiness (literally: to clatter in sabots)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012