scuttled
B2Neutral to Formal (for nautical/military context); Neutral to Informal (for hurried movement).
Definition
Meaning
past tense/past participle of 'scuttle'. To deliberately sink a ship, or to move hurriedly with short, quick steps.
To move quickly and awkwardly, or to run with hasty, shuffling steps. In a figurative sense, to cause a plan, project, or negotiation to fail or be abandoned.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The verb 'scuttle' is polysemous. The 'sink' meaning is primarily used with direct objects (ships, vessels). The 'hurry' meaning is intransitive. The figurative 'to cause to fail' is a semantic extension from 'to deliberately destroy/disable'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The nautical term ('to sink a ship') is consistent. For 'hurry', the word is slightly more common in British English than American.
Connotations
Nautical usage is serious and deliberate. For movement, it often implies a slightly comical, clumsy, or frantic urgency.
Frequency
Both senses are used in both variants, but the 'hurry' sense may be heard more in BrE fiction and description.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
Transitive: Subject + scuttle + Object (ship/plan)Intransitive: Subject (person/animal) + scuttle + Adverbial (direction)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Scuttle one's hopes/chances.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
'The merger talks were scuttled at the last minute over regulatory concerns.' (Figurative: caused to fail)
Academic
'The captain scuttled his own ship to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.' (Historical/military studies)
Everyday
'When I turned on the light, the cockroach scuttled under the fridge.'
Technical
'The crew opened the seacocks to scuttle the damaged hull and prevent an environmental spill.' (Maritime/naval)
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The captain scuttled the old frigate to form an artificial reef.
- The mouse scuttled along the skirting board.
American English
- They scuttled the barge to block the channel.
- He scuttled out of the room when his name was called.
adjective
British English
- The scuttled ship now lies in thirty metres of water.
- A scuttled peace initiative.
American English
- The scuttled tanker was an environmental hazard.
- A scuttled project left the team frustrated.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The bug scuttled away.
- The old boat was scuttled.
- The children scuttled back to their desks when the teacher arrived.
- The sailors scuttled their ship during the war.
- Fearing discovery, the spy scuttled into the shadows.
- The leaked email scuttled the fragile agreement between the two companies.
- To avoid capture, the privateer's crew scuttled their vessel, sending it and its valuable cargo to the bottom.
- The minister's controversial remarks effectively scuttled his own party's election strategy.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a small crab (a 'scuttle' sounds like 'scuttle') hurriedly SINKING into the sand (scuttling away). One action, two ideas: sinking and fast, awkward movement.
Conceptual Metaphor
FAILURE IS SINKING/SABOTAGE ('scuttle a plan'); HASTY RETREAT IS ANIMAL MOVEMENT ('scuttled away like a beetle').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Not "ползал" or "крался" (implies stealth). Scuttling is hurried, not necessarily stealthy.
- The figurative use ('to scuttle a deal') is close to Russian "похоронить" or "провалить", but with a nuance of deliberate action.
Common Mistakes
- Using it for smooth or graceful movement. (Incorrect: 'The dancer scuttled across the stage.')
- Confusing with 'scuffle' (a fight).
- Using intransitively for the nautical sense. (Incorrect: 'The ship scuttled.') It needs an agent: 'They scuttled the ship.'
Practice
Quiz
In a business context, what does it mean to 'scuttle' a deal?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Sank' is general. 'Scuttled' implies a deliberate, intentional act of sinking, often by the ship's own crew. A ship can sink accidentally; it is only scuttled on purpose.
Yes, but not to mean 'sank a person'. For people (or animals), it means to move quickly with short, hurried, often furtive or clumsy steps (e.g., 'He scuttled out of the meeting').
The nautical/military and figurative uses are fairly formal. The use describing hurried movement is more informal and descriptive, common in narrative.
The 'hurry' sense comes from Middle English 'scutelen', related to 'scud'. The nautical sense ('to sink a ship by cutting a hole') comes from Spanish 'escotilla' meaning 'hatch' (via 'scuttle' as a nautical term for a hatch or opening).