scuttled

American  

[skuht-ld] / ˈskʌt ld /

adjective

1. (of a vessel) deliberately sunk, often by opening seacocks or making openings in the hull.

   It is important to ensure that the scuttled vessel is suitably weighted and negatively buoyant so it will sink rapidly and remain stable on the bottom.

2. abandoned, dropped, cut, or thwarted, as a hope, plan, program, etc..

   In the fallout over the scuttled deal, two executives were fired for ethical violations related to the negotiations.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scuttle.

Etymology

Origin of scuttled

First recorded in 1740–50; scuttle ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; scuttle ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

The Federal Trade Commission scuttled a Blockbuster acquisition External link of Hollywood Video in 2005 as a merger to monopoly; Blockbuster, the supposed rental behemoth, declared bankruptcy a few years later.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Nigel Inkster, a former director of operations at the British foreign-intelligence agency MI6, said he thought the British government had bungled the case rather than intentionally scuttled it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

The 52-strong German High Seas fleet was scuttled - deliberately sunk - by its crews in 1919 when the commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, mistakenly thought peace talks had failed.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2025

Years later, it would be revealed that the ship had been scuttled at sea and the crew picked up by the French nuclear submarine Rubis.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

It was little more than a shadow, and it scuttled down the darkened hall fast, like a little patch of night.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• scamper
• scurry