saboteur

noun

sab·​o·​teur ˌsa-bə-ˈtər 

-ˈtu̇r,

-ˈtyu̇r

: one that practices sabotage

Examples of saboteur in a Sentence

The car's tires were slashed by saboteurs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nazi saboteurs who came on our shores at Montauk during World War II had their day in court. —Time Staff, Time, 25 Apr. 2025

Expect an urge to clean up your energetic hygiene, face your inner saboteur, and explore spiritual practices that are both ancestral and futuristic. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 29 Apr. 2025

Otherwise Israel could, in theory, only chip at Fordo’s periphery—by destroying power sources, collapsing entrances or sending saboteurs—while uranium continues to be enriched below. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 18 June 2025

These strands, which conduct information as pulses of light, have long been vulnerable to accidental damage by fishing trawlers and curious marine predators; more recently, there are fears that they’ve been targeted by saboteurs in the Baltic and the Taiwan Strait. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from saboter

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for saboteur

• amateur
• connoisseur
• kieselguhr
• monseigneur
• procureur
• retransfer
• silencer
• voyageur
• birr
• blur
• bur
• cur

Kids Definition

saboteur

noun

sab·​o·​teur ˌsab-ə-ˈtər 

-ˈt(y)u̇(ə)r

: a person who performs sabotage