scupper

noun scup·per \ ˈskə-pər \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: scupper in a Sentence

Editor's Note: scupper Has Military Origins

Definition of scupper

1 : an opening cut through the bulwarks of a ship so that water falling on deck may flow overboard

2 : an opening in the wall of a building through which water can drain from a floor or flat roof

See scupper defined for English-language learners

See scupper defined for kids

scupper was our Word of the Day on 09/12/2015. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of scupper from the Web

To best avoid ice dams, IBHS has created safety guidelines to follow: Keep drains, scuppers, gutters, and downspouts clear of debris.

— madison alcedo, Country Living, "Why You Should Always Clear Snow Off Your Roof," 19 Jan. 2018
And knitting needles can roll on deck and out the scuppers.

— andrea sachs, Philly.com, "On a Windjammer cruise in Maine, passengers knit a seaworthy yarn," 26 Oct. 2017
The towering Dupont Circle fountain is tilting, its huge top basin inching off-kilter and slowly spoiling the flow from its three scuppers.

— steve hendrix, Washington Post, "Where’s the water? In the nation’s capital, dry fountains mar the landscape.," 9 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scupper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of scupper

Middle English skopper- (in compounds), perhaps from Anglo-French *escopoir, from escopir to spit out

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

scupper

verb

Definition of scupper

scuppered; scuppering; scuppers

transitive verb

British

: to defeat or put an end to : do in 1a

See scupper defined for English-language learners

Examples of scupper in a Sentence

The latest information could scupper the peace talks.

Recent Examples of scupper from the Web

But any chance that it would be well received by the Palestinians was scuppered when Mr Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, opened the Jerusalem embassy.

— The Economist, "Donald Trump is undermining the rules-based international order," 7 June 2018
In 2007, a multibillion dollar deal between Bain Capital Management, U.S. networking company 3com, and Huawei got scuppered by U.S. officials over security concerns.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "How Bad Is Facebook’s New China Problem?," 6 June 2018
Alderweireld's season was scuppered by a serious hamstring injury in November which sidelined the centre back for much of the season, managing just three Premier League starts in 2018.

— SI.com, "Report Claims Man Utd Yet to Enter Talks for Tottenham Defender Despite Recent Transfer Speculation," 4 June 2018
The parties’ previous choice for economy minister sparked a clash with Mr. Mattarella that scuppered an earlier attempt by the pair to form a government.

— giovanni legorano, WSJ, "Italian Political Parties 5 Star and League Strike Deal on Coalition Government," 31 May 2018
Glencore Plc is close to a $1 billion deal to buy Chevron Corp.’s southern African assets, potentially scuppering an earlier agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., according to three people familiar with the matter.

— paul burkhardt, Bloomberg.com, "Glencore Is Said to Near $1 Billion Chevron Southern Africa Deal," 21 May 2018
At the same time as threatening to scupper the summit with Trump, North Korea did cancel talks with South Korean officials that had been scheduled for Wednesday, less than 24 hours after agreeing to them.

— the washington post, cleveland.com, "North Korea threatens to cancel summit with Trump over military drills," 15 May 2018
At the same time as threatening to scupper the summit with Trump, North Korea did cancel talks with South Korean officials that had been scheduled for Wednesday, less than 24 hours after agreeing to them.

— anna fifield, Anchorage Daily News, "North Korea threatens to cancel summit with Trump over military drills," 15 May 2018
On Monday, Reuters reported that Comcast (cmcsa, +1.35%) is getting its ducks in a row to scupper the deal, one way or another.

— hallie detrick, Fortune, "Comcast Is Still Trying to Bust Up the Fox-Disney Marriage. Here's How They Could Do it.," 8 May 2018

scupper Has Military Origins

All efforts to figure out where this verb came from have been defeated, including attempts to connect it to the noun scupper, a 500-year-old word for a drain opening in the side of a ship. (One conjecture, that the blood of shipboard battle was "scuppered" when it was washed down the scuppers, unfortunately lacks backing in the form of any actual evidence of the verb used this way.) All we know for sure is that scupper meant "to ambush and massacre" in 19th-century military slang. Then, just before the century turned, it found its place in a magazine story in the sense of simply "doing (someone) in." The more common modern application to things rather than people being done in or defeated didn't appear until a couple of decades into the 20th century.