Sabotage
/ˈsæbətɑːʒ/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct something, especially for political or military advantage or to hinder someone.
/ˈsæbətɑːʒ/
To deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct, especially for political or military advantage.
The workers were accused of sabotaging the factory's equipment.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're trying to build a LEGO castle, but your little brother keeps taking away the bricks and hiding them. He's sabotaging your castle! Sabotage is when you mess something up on purpose.
👶 For kids: To ruin something on purpose.
More Examples
He tried to sabotage her chances of getting the promotion.
They feared that enemy agents would sabotage the upcoming elections.
How It's Used
"Enemy agents tried to sabotage the bridge to prevent the army's advance."
"A disgruntled employee might sabotage a project by deleting important files."
The act of deliberately destroying or damaging something, typically for political or military advantage or to hinder or interfere with someone's efforts.
/ˈsæbətɑːʒ/
Deliberate action intended to damage or destroy something.
The company blamed sabotage for the failure of the new product.
💡 Simply: If someone messes up something on purpose to stop it from working, that's sabotage! Like if someone spills water on your computer to make it stop working, that's sabotage.
👶 For kids: On purpose breaking something or stopping something from working.
More Examples
An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the suspected sabotage.
The enemy's sabotage caused significant delays in our operations.
How It's Used
"The investigation revealed evidence of sabotage in the power grid outage."
"The structural failure was suspected to be the result of deliberate sabotage."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
economic sabotage
Actions taken to damage or disrupt a nation's economy.
"The sanctions imposed on the country were seen by some as a form of economic sabotage."
From French *saboter* ('to bungle'), originally referring to clogs (*sabots*) used by workers to disrupt machinery. Evolved into deliberate destruction or obstruction.
The term emerged in the early 20th century, associated with labor unrest and industrial disputes.
Memory tip
Think of 'sabots' (wooden shoes) being thrown into machinery to disrupt production.
Word Origin
"Derived from *sabot*, a wooden shoe. The act of throwing sabots into machinery to cause disruption."