Meaning

2 senses

  1. (rare, slang, transitive)To spread (information) by way of gossip or rumour.

  2. (intransitive, slang)To chat idly or gossip; also, to spread rumours.

Examples

2 sentences

  1. The scuttlebutt is that layoffs are coming.

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  2. The scuttlebutt is they're going to Australia.

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Origin

The noun is derived from scuttle (“to cut a hole through (something)”) + butt (“wooden cas

The noun is derived from scuttle (“to cut a hole through (something)”) + butt (“wooden cask”). Noun sense 2 (“gossip, idle chatter; rumour”) refers to the fact that sailors would gather around the scuttlebutt to drink and exchange gossip; compare furphy and water cooler.

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Forms

scuttlebutts, scuttlebutting, scuttlebutted, scuttlebutted
Base formscuttlebutt · to scuttlebutt
3rd person singularscuttlebutts
Present participlescuttlebutting
Past simplescuttlebutted
Past participlescuttlebutted

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyscuttlebutt
he, she, itscuttlebutts

Past simpleLesson

all personsscuttlebutted

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave scuttlebutted
he, she, ithas scuttlebutted

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill scuttlebutt

Word family

1 related words
Relatedwater cooler

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
scurvyscuttlescytheB2seaA1seabed
scuttlebutt — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto