scuttle

verb/ˈskʌtəl/

Frequency rank: #17,335 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

to sink a ship deliberately by making holes in the hull; also to scurry or run with short quick steps.

Illustration for the English word “scuttle”

Example sentence

The crew decided to scuttle the ship rather than let it fall into enemy hands.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 17,301–17,400