Meaning & use
Torpedoed
Last updated
Attacked or sank (a ship) with a torpedo; or, figuratively, deliberately ruined or wrecked a plan or effort.
See it in a sentence
The submarine torpedoed two merchant vessels before dawn.
A single leaked memo torpedoed the merger just weeks before it was due to close.
A note on using this word
The figurative sense, meaning to destroy a plan or proposal, has been common in political and business writing since the early twentieth century.
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. verb
Deliberately wrecked or ruined a plan, deal, or effort.
The senator's last-minute objection torpedoed the bill.
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