Self-sabotage
noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The sabotaging, whether consciously or subconsciously, of oneself, one's own interests, plans etc. uncountable
"“The modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism. From the health perspective, it is an act of self-sabotage,” said the WHO president, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus."
Verb
- 1 To sabotage oneself or one's own plans. transitive
"Before we even get started trying to explain this complicated concept of why we self-sabotage our own success, please understand that I am at best an “armchair doctor”."
Example
More examples"“The modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism. From the health perspective, it is an act of self-sabotage,” said the WHO president, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus."
Etymology
From self- + sabotage.
Related phrases
More for "self-sabotage"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.