From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscupperscup‧per1 /ˈskʌpə $ -ər/ verb [transitive] British English 1 SPOILto ruin someone’s plans or chance of being successful – used especially in news reports SYN scuttle American English Plans to build a private hospital have been scuppered after a government inquiry.2 TTWDESTROYto deliberately sink your own ship→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
scupper• He tried that in Galle but was scuppered by Murali in both innings.• Pond purloined: A Scarborough school's nature garden has been scuppered by thieves who made off with their fish pond.• It was this that finally scuppered her opponent.• The extent of Labour's majority scuppered most of the smaller parties' ambitions.• The surprise result also scuppered Scarborough Building Society's plans for a rate rise.• But differences over valuation scuppered the deal-that could happen again.• Others feel outsiders are scuppering their chance of the bypass they have long wanted.• Subconsciously, they scupper their own efforts to gain a little comfort.scupperscupper2 noun [countable] technical TTWHOLEa hole in the side of a ship that allows water to flow back into the seaOrigin scupper2 (1400-1500) Perhaps from scoop 