verb
founder
To lose buoyancy and sink.
The damaged ship founders as water pours into its hold.
Etymology
The French ancestor meant to sink or go to the bottom. A ship founders when it loses its ability to remain afloat and sinks.
More examples
- The fishing boat foundered during a violent storm.
- Without repairs, the leaking barge will founder before reaching shore.
- The crew abandons the foundering vessel.
Forms
founder · founders · foundered · foundering