Meaning & use
sabotaging someone
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Deliberately damaging or blocking what another person is trying to achieve, usually so that you gain an advantage.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase with a direct object: you sabotage someone or someone's plans, with no preposition in between.
Patterns
- sabotage someone
- sabotage someone's chances
- be accused of sabotaging someone
She was accused of sabotaging a colleague to get the promotion for herself.
By spreading rumors about him, they were effectively sabotaging someone who had done nothing wrong.
He kept sabotaging his own brother's business deals out of jealousy.
phrasefixed phrase
Secretly working against a person or group you are supposed to support, especially in politics or war.
Grammar: Here the object is usually a group, government, or effort rather than one individual; it often appears in the passive.
Patterns
- sabotage a government
- sabotage peace talks
- be sabotaged by someone
Rebel officers were arrested for sabotaging the peace talks from inside the delegation.
The report claims foreign agents spent years sabotaging the country's energy network.
Critics say the new rules are designed to sabotage the whole reform process.
Common combinations
- accuse someone of sabotaging
- The manager accused her of sabotaging the project on purpose.
- sabotage someone's chances
- Arriving late again could sabotage your chances of keeping the job.
- deliberately sabotage
- He deliberately sabotaged the meeting by leaking the agenda.
- sabotage a relationship
- Constant criticism can sabotage a relationship that once seemed strong.
- sabotage yourself
- Stop sabotaging yourself with negative talk before every interview.
Synonyms and how they differ
- undermine
- Undermine suggests slowly weakening someone's position or confidence, which may be unintentional, while sabotaging someone usually means actively and knowingly wrecking their efforts.
- hinder
- Hinder means making progress difficult and is often neutral or accidental, whereas sabotaging someone carries a clear sense of deliberate harm.
- betray
- Betray focuses on breaking someone's trust, which may happen without blocking their goals, while sabotaging someone focuses on the damage done to their plans.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sabotaging someone or sabotaging something? sabotaging someone or sabotage?
sabotaging someone vs sabotaging something
Learners often mix up the object: you can sabotage a plan, a project, or a person, but you do not 'sabotage to someone' — there is no preposition before the object.
sabotaging someone vs sabotage
Some learners use 'sabotage' as an adjective ('a sabotage act'); the adjective you want there is 'sabotaging' or the noun 'sabotage' used before another noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Sabotage' takes a direct object with no preposition, so 'sabotaging their manager' is right. The other options all insert a preposition that the verb does not allow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sabotaging someone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.