saper

In a sentence

• Il a essayé de saper mon autorité devant l'équipe.

  He tried to undermine my authority in front of the team.

  In this sentence, 'saper' is used in its figurative sense, meaning to undermine or weaken someone's authority or credibility, often in a subtle or indirect manner.

• Les étudiants ont utilisé une stratégie astucieuse pour saper les règles strictes de l'école.

  The students used a clever strategy to undermine the school's strict rules.

  Here, 'saper' conveys the idea of making something invalid or ineffective, specifically a rule or regulation, through deliberate actions.

• Les racines des arbres sapent les fondations du vieux bâtiment.

  The tree roots are undermining the foundations of the old building.

  In this context, 'saper' is employed literally, indicating the action of causing structural weakening or harm to a physical object (the building's foundations in this case).