What does "scuttle" mean?
A container like an open bucket (usually to hold and carry coal).
Scuttle
/ˈskʌt.l̩/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A container like an open bucket (usually to hold and carry coal).
- Grammar: scuttle is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: opening, amble, archway, back door.
- Useful contrasts: advance, amble, crawl.
- Usage evidence: Crawl forward is done much more agilely - scuttle like a cockroach!
How to use "scuttle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scuttle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scuttle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scuttle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scuttle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scuttle" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "opening" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scuttle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A container like an open bucket (usually to hold and carry coal).
"All through dinner—which was long, in consequence of such accidents as the dish of potatoes being mislaid in the coal skuttle and the handle of the corkscrew coming off and striking the young woman in the chin—Mrs. Jellyby preserved the evenness of her disposition."
- 2 A small hatch or opening in a boat, sometimes one used for draining water from open deck.
"My knife was at my hip. I returned to my hut for the shotgun, made sure it was loaded, and went down to the Ghost. With some difficulty, and at the expense of a wetting to the waist, I climbed aboard. The forecastle scuttle was open. I paused to listen for the breathing of the men, but there was no breathing."
- 3 A quick pace; a short run.
"She scarce gave me time to return her salute, before she quitted the shop with an easy scuttle, and stepped again into her coach"
- 4 an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship wordnet
- 5 A broad, shallow basket.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A drained trough between the windscreen and bonnet of a motor vehicle, forming the intake to the heating/air-conditioning system, often also containing the windscreen wiper motor.
- 7 container for coal; shaped to permit pouring the coal onto the fire wordnet
- 8 A dish, platter or a trencher. Northern-England, Scotland, obsolete
- 9 A drained trough between the windscreen and bonnet of a motor vehicle, forming the intake to the heating/air-conditioning system, often also containing the windscreen wiper motor.; By extension, the bulkhead at the front of the passenger compartment.
- 10 A hatch that provides access to the roof from the interior of a building.
Verb
- 1 To cut a hole or holes through the bottom, deck, or sides of (as of a ship), for any purpose. transitive
- 2 To move hastily, to scurry. intransitive
"With the first dawn of day, old Janet was scuttling about the house to wake the baron."
- 3 to move about or proceed hurriedly wordnet
- 4 To deliberately sink one's ship or boat by any means, usually by order of the vessel's commander or owner. transitive
"The Vichy French fleet in Toulon in 1942 scuttled itself as a final "fuck you" to the invading Germans."
- 5 To deliberately wreck one's vehicle (of any sort). broadly, transitive
"The third and equally important fact is that at the time of gear retraction more than ample runway remained to brake to a successful stop and even had there been a fire in the left engine no necessity existed for scuttling the aircraft."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To undermine or thwart oneself or one's position or property, especially deliberately. broadly, transitive
"The candidate had scuttled his chances with his unhinged outburst."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Crawl forward is done much more agilely - scuttle like a cockroach!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scuttle"?
Common synonyms include: opening, amble, archway, back door, back out, bankrupt.
How do you use "scuttle" in a sentence?
Crawl forward is done much more agilely - scuttle like a cockroach!
How do you pronounce "scuttle"?
Pronounced /ˈskʌt.l̩/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scuttel, scutel, from Old English scutel (“dish, platter”), from Latin scutella, diminutive form of Latin scutra (“flat tray, dish”), perhaps related to Latin scutum (“shield”); compare Dutch schotel and German Schüssel.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Middle French escoutille (compare French écoutille), from Old Norse skaut (“corner of a cloth, of a sail”), or alternatively from Spanish escotilla, ultimately from Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍄𐍃 (skauts, “projecting edge, fringe”), from Proto-Germanic *skautaz (“corner; wedge; lap”). Compare German Schoß, Old English sċēat. More at sheet.
Etymology 3
See scuddle.