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Synonyms

saboteur

American  
[sab-uh-tur] / ˌsæb əˈtɜr /

noun

  1. a person who commits or practices sabotage.

saboteur British  
/ ˌsæbəˈtɜː /

noun

  1. a person who commits sabotage

"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

Etymology

Origin of saboteur

1920–25; < French, equivalent to sabot ( er ) to botch ( sabotage ) + -eur -eur

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.

But the patrols won’t make a difference if sea saboteurs know that international law will shield them from consequences.

From The Wall Street Journal

They are also easy for would-be saboteurs to find.

From The Wall Street Journal

But they also assume anyone who disagrees with them is incompetent, delusional or even a saboteur, so they reject their opinions and ideas out of hand.

From The Wall Street Journal

The cables are easy to find for saboteurs because their routes are all publicly mapped.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ukrainian officials have publicly named members of Russia's intelligence agencies they suspect of acting as handlers to saboteurs.

From BBC

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.