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spoil

[ spoil ]

/ spɔɪl /

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See synonyms for: spoil / spoiled / spoiling / spoils on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing.

to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness, etc.: The water stain spoiled the painting. Drought spoiled the corn crop.

to diminish or impair the quality of; affect detrimentally: Bad weather spoiled their vacation.

to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: to spoil a child by pampering him.

Archaic. to strip (persons, places, etc.) of goods, valuables, etc.; plunder; pillage; despoil.

Archaic. to take or seize by force.

verb (used without object), spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing.

to become bad, or unfit for use, as food or other perishable substances; become tainted or putrid: Milk spoils if not refrigerated.

to plunder, pillage, or rob.

noun

Often spoils. booty, loot, or plunder taken in war or robbery.

the act of plundering.

an object of plundering.

Usually spoils.

the emoluments and advantages of public office viewed as won by a victorious political party: the spoils of office.
prizes won or treasures accumulated: a child's spoils brought home from a party.

waste material, as that which is cast up in mining, excavating, quarrying, etc.

an imperfectly made object, damaged during the manufacturing process.

OTHER WORDS FOR spoil

1 disfigure, destroy, demolish, mar.

See synonyms for spoil on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about spoil

be spoiling for, Informal. to be very eager for; be desirous of: It was obvious that he was spoiling for a fight.

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

synonym study for spoil

1. 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 WORDS FROM spoil

spoil·a·ble, adjectivespoilless, adjectiveun·spoil·a·ble, adjectiveun·spoiled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use spoil in a sentence

Yes, Mailer was, as he readily admitted, something of a spoiled Jewish boy.
Mailer’s Letters Pack a Punch and a Surprising Degree of Sweetness|Ronald K. Fried|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That kind of spoiled naïveté seems inexcusable in a clearly intelligent author who is pushing 30.
Time to Grow Up, Lena Dunham|Emily Shire|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Poor Stone, like most of us, forced to share a stage with this unpredictable, spoiled brat, looked uncomfortable.
Justin Bieber's Abs Cannot Save Him|Tim Teeman|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They have putrid California grapes for eyes, puffed-out cheeks of spoiled plums, sweltered eggplant lips.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Even stories of cruise ships in trouble with leaky toilets and spoiled food are popular.
The Racism of Disaster Coverage|Barbie Latza Nadeau|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Where there is no hedge, the possession shall be spoiled: and where there is no wife, he mourneth that is in want.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
But this sudden blow was a reminder that fate had been capricious to spoiled darlings before.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Entrusted with sixty thousand men with orders to make a vast turning movement, his timidity spoiled the Emperor's careful plans.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
He would never suffer that fine crop of hay to be spoiled; and father, with no one here to help him to bring it in.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
He has been with me to see old Mrs. Robins, and she made so much of him, that if I take him again he'll be regularly spoiled.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for spoil

spoil

/ (spɔɪl) /

verb spoils, spoiling, spoilt or spoiled

(tr) to cause damage to (something), in regard to its value, beauty, usefulness, etc

(tr) to weaken the character of (a child) by complying unrestrainedly with its desires

(intr) (of perishable substances) to become unfit for consumption or usethe fruit must be eaten before it spoils

(intr) sport to disrupt the play or style of an opponent, as to prevent him from settling into a rhythm

archaic to strip (a person or place) of (property or goods) by force or violence

be spoiling for to have an aggressive desire for (a fight, etc)

noun

waste material thrown up by an excavation

any treasure accumulated by a personthis gold ring was part of the spoil

obsolete

the act of plundering
a strategically placed building, city, etc, captured as plunder

See also spoils

Word Origin for spoil

C13: from Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre to strip, from spolium booty

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with spoil

spoil

In addition to the idioms beginning with spoil

spoil for

also see:

spare the rod and spoil the child
too many cooks spoil the broth
to the victor belong the spoils

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.