spoil

[spoil]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spoil 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.

Idioms

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

1300–50; (v.) Middle English spoilen < Old French espoillier < Latin spoliāre to despoil, equivalent to spoli(um) booty + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) derivative of the v. or < Old French espoille, derivative of espoillier

Related formsspoil·a·ble, adjectivespoil·less, adjectiveun·spoil·a·ble, adjectiveun·spoiled, adjective

Synonyms for spoil

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spoil ON THESAURUS.COM

1. disfigure, destroy, demolish, mar. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for spoils

booty, swag, cut, prize, pillage, make, plunder, goods, prey, gain, take, loot, squeeze, graft, pickings

Examples from the Web for spoils

Contemporary Examples of spoils

Yet instead of disbelieving that the facts will set us free, we cling to them as if they were spoils of war.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim
James Poulos
December 13, 2014
Over time, old rivalries began to deepen, particularly over the spoils of corruption.
‘The Good Lie’ and the Hard Truths of South Sudan
John Prendergast
October 3, 2014
Perhaps worst of all, this scramble for spoils raises the value of gains even as it lowers the bar for action.
Is Democracy Doomed Abroad?
James Poulos
August 31, 2014
Meanwhile, ISIS amassed resources, money, and heavy weapons brought back as spoils from their military victories in Iraq.
Obama Is Just 'Tickling' ISIS, Syrian Rebels Say
Josh Rogin
August 25, 2014
Kourtney Kardashian (Keeping Up With the Kardashians) Kourtney spoils her son, Mason, and she and her boyfriend love him a lot.
TV’s Best and Worst Moms: ‘Veep,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ and More
The Daily Beast Video
May 11, 2014

Historical Examples of spoils

"Spoils the hoof to put the knife on the sole, Buck," said the smith.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
There they sat down around a council table, and there they divided the spoils.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Leave these to parties contending for office, as the "spoils of victory."
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
Out of so many conquests and the spoils of conquered cities!
Alexander's Bridge and The Barrel Organ
Willa Cather and Alfred Noyes
Maria Novella, while it spoils the classical ornaments of the mouldings.
Modern Painters Volume II (of V)
John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for spoils

spoils

pl n

(sometimes singular) valuables seized by violence, esp in war

mainly US the rewards and benefits of public office regarded as plunder for the winning party or candidateSee also spoils system

spoil

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

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

Word Origin and History for spoils

spoil

c.1300, from Old French espoillier "to strip, plunder," from Latin spoliare "to strip of clothing, rob," from spolium "armor stripped from an enemy, booty;" originally "skin stripped from a killed animal," from PIE *spol-yo-, perhaps from root *spel- "to split, to break off" (cf. Greek aspalon "skin, hide," spolas "flayed skin;" Lithuanian spaliai "shives of flax;" Old Church Slavonic rasplatiti "to cleave, split;" Middle Low German spalden, Old High German spaltan "to split;" Sanskrit sphatayati "splits").

Sense of "to damage so as to render useless" is from 1560s; that of "to over-indulge" (a child, etc.) is from 1640s (implied in spoiled). Intransitive sense of "to go bad" is from 1690s. To be spoiling for (a fight, etc.) is from 1865, from notion that one will "spoil" if he doesn't get it. Spoil-sport attested from 1801.

spoil

"goods captured in time of war," c.1300; see spoil (v.). Spoils system in U.S. politics attested by 1839, commonly associated with the administration of President Andrew Jackson, on the notion of "to the victor belongs the spoils."

Idioms and Phrases with spoils

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