sabotage
part of speech
noun (sabotage; uncountable); verb (sabotage, sabotages, sabotaged, sabotaging)
meaning for a pupil
1) Damaging or destroying something on purpose, especially machines, roads or plans, to stop an enemy or rival. tree →
2) (verb) To damage something on purpose. tree →
3) To secretly spoil someone's plan or chance. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons, resistance fighters in World War II sabotaged railways and factories. In everyday life a person can «sabotage» a game or a group project by spoiling it on purpose. In stories it is a villain's trick. Phrases: «act of sabotage», «sabotage someone's plans», «self-sabotage».
examples
- The spies planned sabotage on the bridge. tree →
- Someone sabotaged our sandcastle while we were swimming. tree →
- Don't sabotage the group project by not doing your part. tree →
- The train crash was caused by sabotage, not an accident. tree →
- She thought her rival had sabotaged her bike. tree →
- Staying up late before a test is self-sabotage. tree →
note
Pronounced «SAB-uh-tahzh». From French. Regular verb: sabotaged. Myth: it is often said the word comes from workers throwing wooden shoes (sabots) into machines; that story is probably made up. Damaging property on purpose is a crime.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sabotage» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.