sabotage

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

noun

1. 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.

2. any undermining of a cause.

verb (used with object)

sabotaged, sabotaging 

1. to injure or attack by sabotage.

   Synonyms: cripple, vandalize, disable

sabotage

/ ˈsæbəˌtɑːʒ /

noun

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

2. any similar action or behaviour

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• unsabotaged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sabotage¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sabotage¹

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

Example Sentences

With only two more sessions scheduled before the end of the year, Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill with cancer, last week warned peers not to "sabotage democracy".

Read more on BBC

But police redeployment ordered at the weekend risks being "sabotaged" by the VIPs and the officers who get paid for their service.

Read more on Barron's

Todt died in an air crash shortly afterward, leading to suspicions that his plane had been sabotaged, though these have never been proved.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Poland also announced it would mobilize 10,000 troops across the country to protect infrastructure and prevent sabotage.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But even ordinary Ukrainians looking for employment can find themselves offered money to carry out sabotage.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cripple 
• destroy 
• disrupt 
• hamper 
• hinder 
• obstruct 
• subvert 
• torpedo 
• undermine 
• vandalize 
• wreck