scuttled

[ skuht-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 ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of scuttled¹

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 county planned to renew shelter operations on the property until Norwalk’s law scuttled the decision.

From Los Angeles Times

If the money doesn’t come through soon, transit planners predict some critical projects may be scuttled — making it tougher for visitors and regular commuters to get around town.

From Los Angeles Times

On Monday, the “Jane Says” singers abruptly called off the remainder of the band’s reunion tour after an onstage fight scuttled Friday’s show in Boston.

From Los Angeles Times

But last week he scuttled legislation to require payment for news stories.

From Los Angeles Times

The capsule was originally set to blast off May 6, but that flight was scuttled because of a malfunctioning valve on the Atlas V rocket that launches it into space.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• scamper
• scurry