spoil
Americanverb (used with object)
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spoils,
present (3rd person singular)
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spoiled,
past participle, past
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spoilt,
past participle, past
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spoiling
present participle
-
to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness, etc.: Drought spoiled the corn crop.
The water stain spoiled the painting.
Drought spoiled the corn crop.
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to diminish or impair the quality of; affect detrimentally.
Bad weather spoiled their vacation.
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to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc..
to spoil a child by pampering him.
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Archaic. to strip (persons, places, etc.) of goods, valuables, etc.; plunder; pillage; despoil.
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Archaic. to take or seize by force.
verb (used without object)
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spoils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoiled,
past participle, past
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spoilt,
past participle, past
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spoiling
present participle
-
to become bad, or unfit for use, as food or other perishable substances; become tainted or putrid.
Milk spoils if not refrigerated.
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to plunder, pillage, or rob.
noun
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Often spoils. booty, loot, or plunder taken in war or robbery.
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the act of plundering.
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an object of plundering.
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Usually spoils.
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the emoluments and advantages of public office viewed as won by a victorious political party.
the spoils of office.
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prizes won or treasures accumulated.
a child's spoils brought home from a party.
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waste material, as that which is cast up in mining, excavating, quarrying, etc.
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an imperfectly made object, damaged during the manufacturing process.
idioms
verb
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(tr) to cause damage to (something), in regard to its value, beauty, usefulness, etc
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(tr) to weaken the character of (a child) by complying unrestrainedly with its desires
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(intr) (of perishable substances) to become unfit for consumption or use
the fruit must be eaten before it spoils
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(intr) sport to disrupt the play or style of an opponent, as to prevent him from settling into a rhythm
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archaic to strip (a person or place) of (property or goods) by force or violence
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to have an aggressive desire for (a fight, etc)
noun
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waste material thrown up by an excavation
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any treasure accumulated by a person
this gold ring was part of the spoil
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obsolete
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the act of plundering
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a strategically placed building, city, etc, captured as plunder
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Synonym Usage
Spoil, ruin, wreck agree in meaning to reduce the value, quality, usefulness, etc., of anything. Spoil is the general term: to spoil a delicate fabric. Ruin implies doing completely destructive or irreparable injury: to ruin one's health. Wreck implies a violent breaking up or demolition: to wreck oneself with drink; to wreck a building.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spoilsimple
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spoilssimple
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have spoiledperfect
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have spoiltperfect
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has spoiledperfect
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has spoiltperfect
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am spoilingprogressive
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are spoilingprogressive
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is spoilingprogressive
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have been spoilingperfect progressive
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has been spoilingperfect progressive
Past
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spoiledsimple
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spoiltsimple
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had spoiledperfect
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had spoiltperfect
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was spoilingprogressive
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were spoilingprogressive
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had been spoilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spoil
First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) Middle English spoilen, from Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre “to despoil,” equivalent to spoli(um) “booty” + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) derivative of the verb or from Old French espoille, derivative of espoillier
Explanation
When you spoil something, you destroy it or ruin its quality. If you spoil a surprise, you tell the secret you were supposed to keep. When you spoil something, you mess it up, like spoiling someone's good mood by bringing up a painful memory. Food can also spoil, or become unsafe for eating, and you can spoil a child by always giving him everything he wants, making him unable to cope when things don't go his way. The word spoil comes from the Old French espoillier, to plunder. In fact, things taken by force are called spoils, like the spoils of war.
Vocabulary lists containing spoil
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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.
See Examples For:
Rain and clouds were forecast to spoil the occasion in the Westfjords region of northwestern Iceland, while Reykjavik, the capital, was set to experience its first total eclipse since 1433.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
For Jeff Edwards, the last child to be pulled alive from his classroom when a colliery spoil tip struck a primary school in Aberfan, the physical injuries healed but the psychological scars never did.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I don’t want to spoil anything,” he says carefully, “but I can’t wait for people to see what Harrenhal has in store for him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But that refusal to risk vulnerability comes back to bite her when the daughter she turned herself inside out to spoil pulls a move reminiscent of Veda in “Mildred Pierce,” betraying Emma for vapid reasons.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
“Have a cookie. But don’t spoil your supper.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
The spoils of the most dynamic companies on earth are spread among schoolteachers and retirees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Ironically, the easiest way to fund his plans would be to draw on the spoils of faster growth.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
While the nation tries to figure it out, Austin is reaping the spoils of its housing overhaul.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
The announcement seemed to be yet another sign that the earliest supporters of Nvidia would not be sharing in the company’s spoils.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
The spoils of a conquest that the country had long ago forgotten, and that some conquistador had failed to tell his children about.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
This is a remix of the lecture supposedly spoiled millennials, who refused to sacrifice every small pleasure on the altar of homeownership, heard for years about $7 lattes.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Additionally, 85 million pounds of food thawed, burned and spoiled inside, creating a terrible smell that emanated from the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
David Matias Rodriguez, an 82-year-old retiree, said he was worried the few things in his refrigerator would be spoiled.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
For a long time, he was the player who beat your favorite player, who spoiled the Sundays of the Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal superfans, and it gave him a certain notoriousness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Her son was a spoiled “billionaire brat” who’d spent a million on a concert that had lasted twenty minutes.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
Fans in New England were spoilt rotten with almost two decades of unbridled success during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era - the greatest quarterback and head coach combination the sport has ever witnessed.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2024
“We are spoilt for choice. We like our meat as meat, and our fish as fish.”
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2024
There has been growing debate over how to manage what China calls "bear children" - spoilt young kids who kick up a fuss in public spaces such as by screaming or damaging public property.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2024
He also revealed that about 5% of the ballots cast were "invalid", or spoilt.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2024
If you know your heart sorry, I say, that mean it not quite as spoilt as you think.
From "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
San José came close to spoiling the party for the Galaxy early on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
“I think it kind of gets to what makes you good as an offense,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and that’s what makes us good: earning pitches, winning counts, spoiling pitches, those kinds of things.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Carling, MP for the North West Cambridgeshire constituency, which includes Holme Fen, said: "This isn't about spoiling anyone's fun; it's about recognising that conditions right now make fireworks and disposable barbecues genuinely dangerous."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
HBO has asked journalists to refrain from spoiling specific jokes, revealing certain gags, or mentioning guest stars that haven’t been announced or confirmed in photos.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Uncle Bob’s turkey tastes like cardboard and his lemon pound cake looks like Jell-O, but Hospital Santa has everyone singing and all this joy is spoiling my mood.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
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.
