saboteur

[sab-uh-tur]

See more synonyms for saboteur on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who commits or practices sabotage.

Origin of saboteur

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for saboteur

murderer, spy, terrorist, competitor, rival, guerrilla, agent, detractor, bandit, foe, villain, traitor, rebel, opposition, invader, criminal, adversary, antagonist, opponent, prosecutor

Examples from the Web for saboteur

Contemporary Examples of saboteur

Over the course of a convincingly dreary London winter, a love triangle forms, with David in the role of underminer and saboteur.
A Vile Love Triangle
Taylor Antrim
July 23, 2009

Historical Examples of saboteur

Then it can be guessed what this saboteur will think and do.
Space Platform
Murray Leinster
If there's a saboteur aboard—and I think there is—then the whole operation's in jeopardy.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton
The presence of a saboteur on the Aztec represented a bungle in his department.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton
Strangely enough, Richter bothered him more than the saboteur.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton
In the first hours of the new morning Gotch named the saboteur.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton

British Dictionary definitions for saboteur

saboteur

noun

a person who commits sabotage

Word Origin for saboteur

C20: from French; see 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

Word Origin and History for saboteur

1912 (from 1909 as a French word in English), a borrowing of the French agent noun from sabotage (see sabotage (n.)).