spoilage

[ spoi-lij ]

/ ˈspɔɪ lɪdʒ /

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See synonyms for spoilage on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of spoiling or the state of being spoiled.

material or the amount of material that is spoiled or wasted: The spoilage in today's shipment is much too great.

the decay of foodstuffs due to the action of bacteria; rotting: He was concerned about the spoilage of fruit on the way to market.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of spoilage

First recorded in 1590–1600; spoil + -age

Words nearby spoilage

Spode, spodosol, spodumene, Spohr, spoil, spoilage, spoil bank, spoiled, spoiled priest, spoiler, spoiler party

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spoilage in a sentence

Also, microorganisms can enter the food when it is transferred from the kettle to jar and cause spoilage.
I found an old-school technique to conquer my jam fears. Then I tried to figure out if it’s safe.|Charlotte Druckman|August 26, 2021|Washington Post
The spoilage happened when Emergent cross-contaminated batches of the two vaccines with ingredients from the other.
After ruining 75M J&J doses, Emergent gets FDA clearance for 25M doses|Beth Mole|June 16, 2021|Ars Technica
This information helps reduce spoilage and wasted doses—if, say, a freezer goes out, medical staff don’t have to assume vaccines are spoiled.
Keeping covid vaccines cold isn’t easy. These ideas could help.|Lindsay Muscato|March 29, 2021|MIT Technology Review
One common way to slow or stop that spoilage is to remove water from the food.
New ‘ionic wind’ can dry foods while preserving nutrients|Sid Perkins|March 2, 2021|Science News For Students

Every retail food business has what’s called shrink, and shrink can mean spoilage.
How to Succeed by Being Authentic (Hint: Carefully) (Ep. 438)|Stephen J. Dubner|November 5, 2020|Freakonomics
Plus, how you store meat in a fridge sometimes contributes to faster spoilage.
Can This Device Save You From Food Poisoning?|DailyBurn|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It will also hide unwanted vegetal flavors and even mask certain types of spoilage.
The Great Wine Cover-up|Keith Wallace|August 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Then the problem of curing tobacco in such a manner that it could reach England without spoilage faced him.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
Spoilage of products is nearly always due to carelessness in one of these steps.
A Little Preserving Book for a Little Girl|Amy Waterman
They also ferment readily, although a small percentage of preservative, such as benzoate of soda, will halt spoilage.
All About Coffee|William H. Ukers
Anything that came in cans or packages that seemed safe from spoilage was carefully stowed away in the cave.
Ticktock and Jim|Keith Robertson
Such irregular surfaces cannot be wrapped smoothly enough to delay spoilage.
The Book of Cheese|Charles Thom and Walter Warner Fisk

British Dictionary definitions for spoilage

spoilage

/ (ˈspɔɪlɪdʒ) /

noun

the act or an instance of spoiling or the state or condition of being spoilt

an amount of material that has been wasted by being spoiltthe spoilage of corn was considerable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

spoilage

Origin of spoilage

Words nearby spoilage

Words related to spoilage

How to use spoilage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spoilage