scupper

1 of 2

noun

scup·​per ˈskə-pər 

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

scupper

2 of 2

verb

scuppered; scuppering; scuppers

transitive verb

chiefly British

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

Did you know?

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.

Examples of scupper in a Sentence

Verb

The latest information could scupper the peace talks.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The hull is sealed, except for a few small holes called scuppers that act as drains for any water that does find its way onto the deck. —Chantae Reden, Popular Mechanics, 31 May 2023

Without a transducer scupper or pod, the best option is to use a transducer arm. —Ric Burnley, Field & Stream, 3 May 2023

Verb

The plan was scuppered at the last moment—with not a little embarrassment at the State Department—by objections from U.S. President Harry Truman, some say for domestic political reasons, as well as by hesitations on the part of Jewish and Palestinian groups. —Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024

The play had readings or productions in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts with Allen starring and different actors playing Barry, but the COVID shutdown scuppered its further development. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1899, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

scupper

noun

scup·​per

ˈskəp-ər

: an opening above the upper deck in the side of a boat through which water drains overboard