Associations to the word «Spoil»

Wiktionary

SPOIL, verb. (transitive) (archaic) To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour. [from 14th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) (archaic) To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil. [from 14th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (ambitransitive) (archaic) To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.). [from 14th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) (obsolete) To carry off (goods) by force; to steal. [14th-19th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use. [from 16th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess. [from 17th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (intransitive) Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay. [from 17th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it. [from 19th c.]
SPOIL, verb. (transitive) To reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.
SPOIL, noun. (Also in plural: spoils) Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.
SPOIL, noun. (uncountable) Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging. Tailings.
SPOIL FIVE, noun. Alternative form of spoilfive
SPOIL HEAP, noun. A heap formed of spoil (material discarded during mining or excavation).
SPOIL HEAP, noun. The place where spoil is dumped.

Dictionary definition

SPOIL, noun. (usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war); "to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy".
SPOIL, noun. The act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her spoiling my dress was deliberate".
SPOIL, noun. The act of stripping and taking by force.
SPOIL, verb. Make a mess of, destroy or ruin; "I botched the dinner and we had to eat out"; "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement".
SPOIL, verb. Become unfit for consumption or use; "the meat must be eaten before it spoils".
SPOIL, verb. Alter from the original.
SPOIL, verb. Treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!".
SPOIL, verb. Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent".
SPOIL, verb. Have a strong desire or urge to do something; "She is itching to start the project"; "He is spoiling for a fight".
SPOIL, verb. Destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country".
SPOIL, verb. Make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty".

Wise words

Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.
Noam Chomsky