spoils
Britishplural noun
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(sometimes singular) valuables seized by violence, esp in war
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the rewards and benefits of public office regarded as plunder for the winning party or candidate See also spoils system
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s extraordinary what these guys did, but I won’t say so much because it spoils the magic.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
To the loser of the 6 a.m. sun-lounger race, goes the lawsuit spoils.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
Atreides says he would call their daughter Ghanima, which is a name native to the fictional Fremen people in the film, meaning "spoils of war".
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Carter’s administration instituted the most sweeping reforms of the civil service since 1883’s Pendleton Act, which replaced the spoils system and created a professional, merit-based system.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026
Without the spoils of war, money to pay the troops came out of Cleopatra’s treasury and is own pocket.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
