sabotage
noun
sab·o·tage
| \ ˈsa-bə-ˌtäzh
\
\
Definition of sabotage
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: destruction of an employer's property (such as tools or materials) or the hindering of manufacturing by discontented workers
2
: destructive or obstructive action carried on by a civilian or enemy agent to hinder a nation's war effort
3a
: an act or process tending to hamper or hurt
b
: deliberate subversion
sabotage
verb
sabotaged;
sabotaging
Definition of sabotage (Entry 2 of 2)
: to practice sabotage on
Examples of sabotage in a Sentence
Noun
Angry workers were responsible for the sabotage of the machines. Officials have not yet ruled out sabotage as a possible cause of the crash.Verb
They sabotaged the enemy's oil fields. The airplane crashed because it was sabotaged. The lawyer is trying to sabotage the case by creating confusion. The deal was sabotaged by an angry employee.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The crash occurred near Ndola, Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia), and immediately aroused suspicions of sabotage. — Daphne Merkin, The New Republic, "Cold Case Hammarskjöld’s Artful Paranoia," 3 Sep. 2019 The explosion marked the third failure involving a rocket at the Iranian center, which has raised suspicions of sabotage in Iran's space program. — CBS News, "Iran admits rocket exploded after technical malfunction," 2 Sep. 2019 Navy officials remained resistant, too, worried about hundreds of ships being trapped in the southern reaches of the bay if the bridge collapsed after an earthquake or from sabotage. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "50 years later, Coronado bridge’s iconic status masks its controversial origins," 4 Aug. 2019 And typically they’re done swiftly to minimize the shockwaves inside the company and protect it from potential sabotage. — Lila Maclellan, Quartz at Work, "Why you should totally go to the pub with your mates when you’ve just been laid off," 8 July 2019 Its recent sabotage of commercial vessels in the United Arab Emirates and pipelines in Saudi Arabia continues a long pattern that began with the invasion of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979. — Mohammed Alyahya, WSJ, "Iran Has Been at War for 40 Years," 27 May 2019 The United Arab Emirates engaged in a round of talks with Iranian counterparts, while Israeli security officials have been circumspect about identifying Iran as the source of recent sabotage attacks in the Persian Gulf. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "Can the Middle East escape its ‘1914 moment’?," 5 Aug. 2019 Once free, Albin caught up with the Polish resistance and served as head of the Home Army’s small sabotage actions division in Krakow. — Fox News, "Last surviving Polish inmate from first transport to Auschwitz dies," 24 July 2019 Investigators have yet to assign blame for the sabotage operations (and Iran denies it was involved). — The Economist, "Iran seizes a British oil tanker," 19 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
In February, The New York Times reported the Trump administration had scaled up a secret US program to sabotage Iran’s missiles and rockets. — Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, "Iran acknowledges launch blast, days after Trump shares revealing image," 2 Sep. 2019 Mary tried to sabotage her sister's happiness, by revealing Marigold's true identity to Bertie. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Where Did Downton Abbey Leave Off Before the Film?," 1 Sep. 2019 The board also wants a new elementary school and several capital improvements, but going to the public for too much at one time could sabotage the positive feedback seen in the survey. — Deanna Weniger, Twin Cities, "Lakeville waits to see what school district will do with sports dome proposal," 4 Aug. 2019 The fandom belief that Marvel is sabotaging its own creations is all but dead now, as Marvel’s parent company Disney has since acquired 20th Century Fox and, thus, the film rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "House of X restores an air of myth and mystique to Marvel’s Merry Mutants ahead of their arrival in the MCU.," 2 Aug. 2019 The elections board’s decision comes amid new warnings of Russia and other foreign rivals trying to sabotage U.S. elections. — USA TODAY, "Momoa at Mauna Kea, Confederate context, Guthrie garbage tribute: News from around our 50 states," 2 Aug. 2019 But CalcioMercato alleges that United see Zaniolo as a 'perfect signing' and will 'try to sabotage' the attempts of both Juventus and Tottenham to sign the Italy international. — SI.com, "Manchester United Linked With Late Swoop for Tottenham & Juventus Target Nicolo Zaniolo," 18 July 2019 But Bell seemed to sabotage his Warriors career with some uneven play this past season while averaging just 3.3 points in just 11.6 minutes per game in 68 appearances. — Jon Becker, The Mercury News, "Jordan Bell has parting message for Warriors," 9 July 2019 But some members of the tribe, disillusioned by the amount of money going to international groups for logistics management, colluded with loggers and anti-REDD activists to sabotage the project. — Paula Moura, ProPublica, "Why Carbon Credits For Forest Preservation May Be Worse Than Nothing," 22 May 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sabotage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sabotage
sabotage
noun
English Language Learners Definition of sabotage
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the act of destroying or damaging something deliberately so that it does not work correctly
sabotage
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of sabotage (Entry 2 of 2)
: to destroy or damage (something) deliberately so that it does not work correctly
: to cause the failure of (something) deliberately
See the full definition for sabotage in the English Language Learners Dictionary
sabotage
noun
sab·o·tage
| \ ˈsa-bə-ˌtäzh
\
\
Kids Definition of sabotage
(Entry 1 of 2)
: deliberate destruction of or damage to property
Angry workers used sabotage to disable the factory's machinery.
sabotage
verb
sabotaged;
sabotaging
Kids Definition of sabotage (Entry 2 of 2)
: to damage or destroy on purpose : to engage in sabotage
The country's water supply was sabotaged by the retreating enemy.
sabotage
noun
sab·o·tage
| \ ˈsa-bə-ˌtäzh
\
\
Legal Definition of sabotage
1
: the willful destruction of an employer's property or the hindering of normal operations by other means
2
: the injury, destruction, or knowingly defective production of materials, premises, or utilities used for war or national defense — compare criminal syndicalism, sedition
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