sab‧o‧tage 1 / ˈsæbətɑːʒ / verb [ transitive ]
1 to secretly damage or destroy equipment, vehicles etc that belong to an enemy or opponent, so that they cannot be used :
Every single plane had been sabotaged.
2 to deliberately spoil someone’s plans because you do not want them to succeed :
Demonstrators have sabotaged the conference.
THESAURUS
damage to cause physical harm to something or someone, or have a bad effect on them : Several buildings were damaged by the earthquake. | The other car wasn’t damaged. | The scandal could damage his career.
harm to have a bad effect on something : They use chemicals that will harm the environment. | The oil crisis could harm the economy.
spoil to have a bad effect on something and make it less successful, enjoyable, useful etc : We didn’t let the rain spoil our holiday. | Local people say the new buildings will spoil the view.
vandalize to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property : All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.
sabotage / ˈsæbətɑːʒ / to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy : There is evidence that the airplane was sabotaged.
tamper with something to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly : The car’s brakes had been tampered with.
desecrate to damage a church or other holy place : The church had been desecrated by vandals.
deface / dɪˈfeɪs / to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc : Someone had defaced the statue and painted it bright orange.
sabotage 2 noun [ uncountable ]
deliberate damage that is done to equipment, vehicles etc in order to prevent an enemy or opponent from using them :
The terrorists were planning acts of sabotage to destabilize the country.
industrial sabotage