scuttle: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Earn your Word Nerd Badge Get the Official Dictionary.com Toolbar
Word of the Day for Sunday, May 30, 2010 scuttle \SKUHT-l\, verb: 1. To run with quick, hasty steps; scurry. noun: 1. A deep bucket for carrying coal. 2. A small hatch or port in the deck, side, or bottom of a vessel. 3. A small hatchlike opening in a roof or ceiling. verb: 1. To sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom. 2. To abandon, withdraw from, or cause to be abandoned or destroyed. noun: 1. A short, hurried run. The 49-unit apartment building in Bronx River has a tally of woes almost impressive in magnitude. It has 663 open violations. Its walls shed lead paint, rain seeps through collapsing ceilings, and cockroaches and rats scuttle across its buckled floors. -- Cara Buckley, "Judge Loses Patience With a Bronx Landlord", New York Times, May 2010 Inside U:Us, one of the biggest stores here, the scenes are no less manic. Rapt-looking buyers, notebooks in hand, scuttle from stall to stall, striking and abandoning deals on bulk buys. -- Niels Footman, "Sleepless in Seoul? Head out for a night of... Shopping", CNNGo.com, May 2010 Scuttle may be related to the similar verb scud, "to run or move quickly." Both words probably derive from the Middle English scottlen, "to move away." Read the full entry | See synonyms | Comment on today's word | Suggest tomorrow's word Yesterday's word | Previous words | Help
Do you like today's word? Share your comments. http://facebook.com/dictionarycom
Dictionary.com Word of the Day http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/ You are currently subscribed to Dictionary.com Word of the Day as: dummyposting@gmail.com Unsubscribe To subscribe to Word of the Day by email, please send a blank message to: join-wordoftheday@lists.lexico.com ©2010 by Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 500 Oakland CA 94607 Subscriptions to The Word of the Day can be turned on and off via the Web at http://www.dictionary.com/help/faq/wordoftheday/   Tell a friend about The Word of the Day!