spoil


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spoil

(spoil)
v. spoiled or spoilt (spoilt), spoil·ing, spoils
v. tr.
1.
a. To impair or destroy the quality or value of; ruin: spoiled the dish by adding too much salt.
b. To impair or destroy the enjoyment or experience of: spoiled the movie by talking throughout it.
c. To reveal details about (a movie or a book, for example) before someone has a chance to discover these details on their own: The article spoiled the next episode of my favorite TV show.
2. To harm the character of (a child) by overindulgence or leniency. See Synonyms at pamper.
3. Archaic
a. To plunder; despoil.
b. To take by force.
v. intr.
To become unfit for use or consumption, as from decay. Used especially of perishables, such as food. See Synonyms at decay.
n.
1. spoils
a. Goods or property seized from a victim after a conflict, especially after a military victory.
b. Incidental benefits reaped by a winner, especially political patronage enjoyed by a successful party or candidate.
2. An object of plunder; prey.
3. Refuse material removed from an excavation.
4. Archaic The act of plundering; spoliation.
Phrasal Verb:
spoil for
To be eager for: spoiling for a fight.

[Middle English spoilen, to plunder, from Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre, from spolium, booty.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spoil

(spɔɪl)
vb, spoils, spoiling, spoilt or spoiled
1. (tr) to cause damage to (something), in regard to its value, beauty, usefulness, etc
2. (tr) to weaken the character of (a child) by complying unrestrainedly with its desires
3. (intr) (of perishable substances) to become unfit for consumption or use: the fruit must be eaten before it spoils.
4. (General Sporting Terms) (intr) sport to disrupt the play or style of an opponent, as to prevent him from settling into a rhythm
5. archaic to strip (a person or place) of (property or goods) by force or violence
6. be spoiling for to have an aggressive desire for (a fight, etc)
n
7. (Mining & Quarrying) waste material thrown up by an excavation
8. any treasure accumulated by a person: this gold ring was part of the spoil.
9. obsolete
a. the act of plundering
b. a strategically placed building, city, etc, captured as plunder
[C13: from Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre to strip, from spolium booty]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spoil

(spɔɪl)

v. spoiled or spoilt, spoil•ing, v.t.
1. to damage or harm severely; ruin: The tear spoiled the delicate fabric.
2. to impair the quality of; affect detrimentally: Bad weather spoiled our vacation.
3. to impair the character of (someone) by excessive indulgence.
4. Archaic.
a. to strip of goods or valuables; plunder.
b. to take or seize by force.
v.i.
5. to become bad or unfit for use, as food or other perishable substances.
6. to plunder, pillage, or rob.
n.
7. Often, spoils. booty, loot, or plunder taken in war or robbery.
8. spoils, the emoluments and advantages of public office viewed as won by a victorious political party.
9. waste material, as that which is cast up in excavating.
Idioms:
be spoiling for, Informal. to be very eager for: They're spoiling for a fight.
[1300–50; (v.) Middle English < Old French espoillier < Latin spoliāre to despoil, v. derivative of spolium booty]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

spoil

  • bilk - A term originally used in cribbage, meaning "spoil one's opponent's score."
  • corrupt - Comes from Latin corrumpere, "destroy completely," and first meant "to destroy or spoil the flesh, fruit, or organic matter by dissolution or decomposition."
  • infect - From Latin inficere, "put in" or "dip in," which came to mean "stain, taint, spoil."
  • vitiate - "To make imperfect; spoil."
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

destroy

spoilruin
1. 'destroy'

If you destroy something, you cause so much damage to it that it can no longer be used or it no longer exists.

Several apartment buildings were destroyed by the fire.
I destroyed the letter as soon as I had read it.
2. 'spoil' and 'ruin'

If someone or something prevents an experience from being enjoyable, don't say that they 'destroy' the experience. You say that they spoil it or ruin it.

The evening had been spoiled by their argument.
The weather had completely ruined their day.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

spoil


Past participle: spoiled/spoilt
Gerund: spoiling

Imperative
spoil
spoil
Present
I spoil
you spoil
he/she/it spoils
we spoil
you spoil
they spoil
Preterite
I spoiled/spoilt
you spoiled/spoilt
he/she/it spoiled/spoilt
we spoiled/spoilt
you spoiled/spoilt
they spoiled/spoilt
Present Continuous
I am spoiling
you are spoiling
he/she/it is spoiling
we are spoiling
you are spoiling
they are spoiling
Present Perfect
I have spoiled/spoilt
you have spoiled/spoilt
he/she/it has spoiled/spoilt
we have spoiled/spoilt
you have spoiled/spoilt
they have spoiled/spoilt
Past Continuous
I was spoiling
you were spoiling
he/she/it was spoiling
we were spoiling
you were spoiling
they were spoiling
Past Perfect
I had spoiled/spoilt
you had spoiled/spoilt
he/she/it had spoiled/spoilt
we had spoiled/spoilt
you had spoiled/spoilt
they had spoiled/spoilt
Future
I will spoil
you will spoil
he/she/it will spoil
we will spoil
you will spoil
they will spoil
Future Perfect
I will have spoiled/spoilt
you will have spoiled/spoilt
he/she/it will have spoiled/spoilt
we will have spoiled/spoilt
you will have spoiled/spoilt
they will have spoiled/spoilt
Future Continuous
I will be spoiling
you will be spoiling
he/she/it will be spoiling
we will be spoiling
you will be spoiling
they will be spoiling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been spoiling
you have been spoiling
he/she/it has been spoiling
we have been spoiling
you have been spoiling
they have been spoiling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been spoiling
you will have been spoiling
he/she/it will have been spoiling
we will have been spoiling
you will have been spoiling
they will have been spoiling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been spoiling
you had been spoiling
he/she/it had been spoiling
we had been spoiling
you had been spoiling
they had been spoiling
Conditional
I would spoil
you would spoil
he/she/it would spoil
we would spoil
you would spoil
they would spoil
Past Conditional
I would have spoiled/spoilt
you would have spoiled/spoilt
he/she/it would have spoiled/spoilt
we would have spoiled/spoilt
you would have spoiled/spoilt
they would have spoiled/spoilt
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.spoil - (usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war); "to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy"
plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
stolen property - property that has been stolen
2.spoil - the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her spoiling my dress was deliberate"
injury - an act that causes someone or something to receive physical damage
3.spoil - the act of stripping and taking by force
pillaging, plundering, pillage - the act of stealing valuable things from a place; "the plundering of the Parthenon"; "his plundering of the great authors"
Verb1.spoil - make a mess of, destroy or ruinspoil - 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"
go wrong, miscarry, fail - be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
2.spoil - become unfit for consumption or use; "the meat must be eaten before it spoils"
addle - become rotten; "addled eggs"
curdle - go bad or sour; "The milk curdled"
decay - undergo decay or decomposition; "The body started to decay and needed to be cremated"
3.spoil - alter from the original
modify - make less severe or harsh or extreme; "please modify this letter to make it more polite"; "he modified his views on same-gender marriage"
adulterate, dilute, debase, load, stretch - corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor"
4.spoil - treat with excessive indulgencespoil - treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!"
do by, treat, handle - interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him with caution, please"; "Handle the press reporters gently"
5.spoil - hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) ofspoil - hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent"
disappoint, let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage"
foreclose, forestall, preclude, prevent, forbid - keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"
dash - destroy or break; "dashed ambitions and hopes"
short-circuit - hamper the progress of; impede; "short-circuit warm feelings"
ruin - destroy or cause to fail; "This behavior will ruin your chances of winning the election"
6.spoil - have a strong desire or urge to do something; "She is itching to start the project"; "He is spoiling for a fight"
desire, want - feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room"
7.spoil - destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country"
ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up"
8.spoil - make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty"
damage - inflict damage upon; "The snow damaged the roof"; "She damaged the car when she hit the tree"
defile, sully, taint, corrupt, cloud - place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's reputation"
blemish, deface, disfigure - mar or spoil the appearance of; "scars defaced her cheeks"; "The vandals disfigured the statue"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

spoil

verb
1. ruin, destroy, wreck, damage, total (slang), blow (slang), injure, upset, harm, mar, scar, undo, trash (slang), impair, mess up, blemish, disfigure, debase, deface, put a damper on It is important not to let mistakes spoil your life.
ruin save, preserve, conserve, keep, improve, enhance, augment
2. overindulge, indulge, pamper, baby, cocker (rare), cosset, coddle, spoon-feed, mollycoddle, kill with kindness Grandparents are often tempted to spoil their grandchildren.
overindulge deprive, be strict with, treat harshly, ignore, pay no attention to
3. indulge, treat, pamper, satisfy, gratify, pander to, regale Spoil yourself with a new perfume this summer.
4. go bad, turn, go off (Brit. informal), rot, decay, decompose, curdle, mildew, addle, putrefy, become tainted Fats spoil by becoming tainted.
plural noun
1. booty, loot, plunder, gain, prizes, prey, pickings, pillage, swag (slang), boodle (slang, chiefly U.S.), rapine Competing warlords and foreign powers scrambled for political spoils.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

spoil

verb
1. To become or cause to become rotten or unsound:
2. To cause the complete ruin or wreckage of:
Slang: total.
3. To harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess:
Informal: bollix up, muck up.
Idiom: make a muck of.
4. To treat with indulgence and often overtender care:
5. Archaic. To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war:
Archaic: harrow.
noun
1. Goods or property seized unlawfully, especially by a victor in wartime.Used in plural:
Slang: boodle.
Nautical: prize.
2. The political appointments or jobs that are at the disposal of those in power.Used in plural:
Slang: pork.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُتْلِفيُدَلِّليُدَلِّلُيُفْسِدُ
rozmazlitzkazitkořistluppokazit
forkæleødelægge
pilatahemmotellapilaantua
pokvaritirazmaziti
dekraeyîileggja
台無しにする甘やかす略奪品腐る廃棄物
(...을) 망쳐놓다망치다
paniurėlissurūgėlis
bojātizlutinātlutinātsabojāt
rozmaznať
pokvaritirazvajati
fördärvaskämma bort
ตามใจทำให้เสียหาย ตามใจจนเสียคน
làm hỏnglàm hư

spoil

[spɔɪl] (spoiled or spoilt (vb: pt, pp))
A. VT
1. (= ruin) → estropear, arruinar; (= harm) → dañar; (= invalidate) [+ voting paper] → invalidar
the coast has been spoiled by developmentla costa ha sido arruinada por las urbanizaciones
it spoiled our holidaynos estropeó las vacaciones
and there were 20 spoiled papersy hubo 20 votos nulos
it will spoil your appetitete quitará el apetito
to spoil sb's funaguar la fiesta a algn
to get spoiledecharse a perder, estropearse
2. (= pamper) → mimar, consentir (LAm)
grandparents like to spoil their grandchildrena los abuelos les encanta mimar a los nietos
B. VI
1. [food] → estropearse, echarse a perder
if we leave it here it will spoilsi lo dejamos aquí se estropeará or se echará a perder
2. to be spoiling for a fightestar con ganas de luchar or (LAm) pelear
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spoil

[ˈspɔɪl] [spoilt] (pt, pp) (British) [spoiled] (pt, pp)
vt
(= damage) [+ clothes, food] → abîmer; [+ crops] → endommager
(= mar) [+ evening, holiday, occasion, view, effect, surprise] → gâcher
to spoil one's appetite → se couper l'appétit
[+ child] → gâter
(= pamper) [+ person] → gâter
to spoil o.s. → se faire plaisir
to be spoilt for choice (British) to be spoiled for choice → avoir l'embarras du choix
[+ ballot paper] → rendre nul(le)
vi [food] → se gâter
spoil for
vt fus
to be spoiling for a fight → chercher la bagarre
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

spoil

vb: pret, ptp <spoilt (Brit) or spoiled>
n usu plBeute f no pl; (fig: = profits also) → Gewinn m; the spoils of wardie Kriegsbeute; spoils of officeVergünstigungen plim Amt
vt
(= ruin, detract from)verderben; town, looks etcverschandeln; peace of mindzerstören; liferuinieren; (Brit) ballot papersungültig machen; to spoil the party (fig)ein Spaßverderber sein; to spoil somebody’s funjdm den Spaß verderben; it spoiled our eveningdas hat uns (dat)den Abend verdorben; if you eat now you’ll spoil your lunchwenn du jetzt etwas isst, verdirbst du dir den Appetit fürs Mittagessen; spoiled ballot papers (Brit) → ungültige Stimmzettel pl
personverwöhnen; childrenverwöhnen, verziehen; to spoil somebody for something (inf)jdn für etw verderben; to be spoiled for choiceeine übergroße Auswahl haben, die Qual der Wahl haben
vi
(food)verderben
to be spoiling for trouble/a fightÄrger/Streit suchen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spoil

[spɔɪl] (spoiled or spoilt (pt, pp))
1. vt
a. (ruin, detract from) → rovinare, sciupare; (ballot paper) → annullare, invalidare
don't spoil our fun → non fare il guastafeste
to spoil one's appetite → guastarsi l'appetito
b. (child) → viziare
2. vi
a. (food) → guastarsi, andare a male; (while cooking) → rovinarsi
b. to be spoiling for a fightmorire dalla voglia di litigare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

spoil

(spoil) past tense, past participles spoiled, ~spoilt (-t) verb
1. to damage or ruin; to make bad or useless. If you touch that drawing you'll spoil it.
2. to give (a child etc) too much of what he wants and possibly make his character, behaviour etc worse by doing so. They spoil that child dreadfully and she's becoming unbearable!
spoils noun plural
profits or rewards. the spoils of war; the spoils of success.
spoilt adjective
He's a very spoilt child!
ˈspoilsport noun
a person who spoils, or refuses to join in, the fun of others.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

spoil

يُدَلِّلُ, يُفْسِدُ pokazit, rozmazlit forkæle, ødelægge verderben, verwöhnen κακομαθαίνω consentir, echar a perder, malcriar hemmotella, pilata gâter pokvariti, razmaziti viziare 台無しにする, 甘やかす (...을) 망쳐놓다, 망치다 bederven, verwennen skjemme bort popsuć, rozpieszczać estragar, mimar баловать, портить fördärva, skämma bort ตามใจ, ทำให้เสียหาย ตามใจจนเสียคน berbat etmek, şımartmak làm hỏng, làm hư 宠溺, 溺爱
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

spoil

vt. echar a perder.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

spoil

vt (a child) consentir, mimar; vi (food, etc.) echarse a perder
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
"Why, of course, of course - I knew you'd spoil the child."
"You might be a coward yourself, if you knew you were liable to spoil!" retorted Jack, angrily.
The numbers who hastened to execute this duty, considering that an interesting division of spoil was about to take place, showed how much the troop had at heart the safety of their spiritual father.
Sancho answered them that this fell to him lawfully as spoil of the battle which his lord Don Quixote had won.
"Why did you spoil your pretty thought by tagging that last sentence on, honey?" grumbled Phil.
You dabbled in nasty mud, and made pies, when you were a child; and you dabble in nasty science, and dissect spiders, and spoil flowers, when you grow up.
The father embraced them both, and bestowing his kisses and affection impartially on each, said, "I wish you both would look into the mirror every day: you, my son, that you may not spoil your beauty by evil conduct; and you, my daughter, that you may make up for your lack of beauty by your virtues."
I often wonder why people are all in league to spoil me.
"They spoiled and I buried them, for they were not even fit for pies.
He had a nice little bow in his hand, but it was quite spoiled by the rain, and the tints of his many-colored arrows ran one into the other.
Halpin being the youngest and not over robust was perhaps a trifle "spoiled." He had the double disadvantage of a mother's assiduity and a father's neglect.
The Greeks, after burning the city, sacrifice Polyxena at the tomb of Achilles: Odysseus murders Astyanax; Neoptolemus takes Andromache as his prize, and the remaining spoils are divided.