spoil

Meanings

Verb

  • To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour.
  • To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil.
  • To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).
  • To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.
  • To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use.
  • To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.
  • Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.
  • To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it.
  • To reveal the ending or major events of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.
  • To reduce the lift generated by an airplane or wing by deflecting air upwards, usually with a spoiler.

Noun

Related

Similar words

Origin

  • From Middle English spoilen, spuylen, borrowed from Old French espoillier, espollier, espuler, from Latin spoliāre, present active infinitive of spoliō.

Modern English dictionary

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