What does "scuttle" mean?
Scuttle: A wide-mouthed vessel for holding coal: a coal hod.
Additional senses
- 2.To run with affected precipitation; to hurry; to bustle; to scuddle. With the first dawn of day, old Janet was scuttling about the house to wake the baron. Sir W. Scott.
- 3.A quick pace; a short run. Spectator.
- 4.A small opening in an outside wall or covering, furnished with a lid. Specifically: (a) (Naut.) A small opening or hatchway in the deck of a ship, large enough to admit a man, and with a lid for covering it, also, a like hole in the side or bottom of a ship. (b) An opening in the roof of a house, with a lid.
- 5.The lid or door which covers or closes an opening in a roof, wall, or the like. Scuttle butt, or Scuttle cask (Naut.), a butt or cask with a large hole in it, used to contain the fresh water for daily use in a ship. Totten.
- 6.To cut a hole or holes through the bottom, deck, or sides of (as of a ship), for any purpose.
- 7.To sink by making holes through the bottom of; as, to scuttle a ship.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-scuttle-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00