Definition of "scupper" [scup•per]

• Nautical An opening in the side of a ship at deck level to allow water to run off. (noun)
• An opening for draining off water, as from a floor or the roof of a building. (noun)
• Chiefly British To overwhelm or massacre. (verb-transitive)
• To ruin or destroy: "The world oil glut combined with disastrous federal energy policies to scupper Alberta's economy” ( Christian Science Monitor). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Race one between Alinghi and Damiani Italia saw Damiani win the first start and lead upwind only to have a erroneous 'over the line' call scupper the race which was re-started 20 minutes later."
• "He told the BBC News Channel's Straight Talk that the prime minister wanted to "scupper" his party by leaving "a legacy afterwards which is difficult". ""
• "Like Love Story there's an underlying threat of a cruel fate about to scupper the lives of this mismatched yet oddly yoked pair."