scuttling

4 definitions • 2 examples

present participle of

to move quickly, with small, short steps, especially in order to escape:

A crab scuttled away under a rock as we passed.

The children scuttled off as soon as the headteacher appeared.

to intentionally sink a ship, especially your own, in order to prevent it from being taken by an enemy

to stop something happening, or to cause a plan to fail