Spoil Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of spoil ; 1 · to lose valuable or useful qualities usually as a result of decay the fruit spoiled ; 2 · to have an eager desire spoiling for a fight ; 3 ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut spoil verb SaveWord \ˈspȯi(-ə)l \ spoiled\ ˈspȯi(-​ə)ld ,ˈspȯi(-​ə)lt \orchieflyBritishspoilt\ ˈspȯi(-​ə)lt \;spoiling Definitionofspoil (Entry1of2) transitiveverb 1a :todamageseriously:ruin b :toimpairthequalityoreffectof aquarrelspoiledthecelebration 2a :toimpairthedispositionorcharacterofbyoverindulgenceorexcessivepraise b :topamperexcessively:coddle 3a :pillage,rob b archaic :despoil,strip 4 archaic :toseizebyforce intransitiveverb 1 :tolosevaluableorusefulqualitiesusuallyasaresultofdecay thefruitspoiled 2 :tohaveaneagerdesire spoilingforafight 3 :topracticeplunderandrobbery spoil noun Definitionofspoil (Entry2of2) 1a :plundertakenfromanenemyinwarorfromavictiminrobbery:loot b :somethingvaluableordesirablegainedthroughspecialeffortoropportunismorinreturnforafavor —usuallyusedinplural c :publicofficesmadethepropertyofasuccessfulparty —usuallyusedinplural 2a :spoliation,plundering b :theactofdamaging:harm,impairment 3 :anobjectofplundering:prey 4 :earthandrockexcavatedordredged 5 :anobjectdamagedorflawedinthemaking OtherWordsfromspoil Synonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutspoil OtherWordsfromspoil Verb spoilable \ ˈspȯi-​lə-​bəl \ adjective Synonymsforspoil Synonyms:Verb blemish,darken,mar,poison,stain,taint,tarnish,touch,vitiateSynonyms:Noun booty,loot,pillage,plunder,swag VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforspoil Verb decay,decompose,rot,putrefy,spoilmeantoundergodestructivedissolution.decayimpliesaslowchangefromastateofsoundnessorperfection. adecayingmansion decomposestressesabreakingdownbychemicalchangeandwhenappliedtoorganicmatteracorruption. thestrongodorofdecomposingvegetation rotisaclosesynonymofdecomposeandoftenconnotesfoulness. fruitwaslefttorotinwarehouses putrefyimpliestherottingofanimalmatterandoffensivenesstosightandsmell. corpsesputrefyingonthebattlefield spoilapplieschieflytothedecompositionoffoods. keepthehamfromspoiling indulge,pamper,humor,spoil,baby,mollycoddlemeantoshowunduefavortoaperson'sdesiresandfeelings.indulgeimpliesexcessivecomplianceandweaknessingratifyinganother'sorone'sowndesires. indulgedmyselfwithfoodattheslightestexcuse pamperimpliesinordinategratificationofdesireforluxuryandcomfortwithconsequentenervatingeffect. pamperedbytheamenitiesofmodernliving humorstressesayieldingtoaperson'smoodsorwhims. humoredhimbylettinghimtellthestory spoilstressestheinjuriouseffectsoncharacterbyindulgingorpampering. foolishparentsspoiltheirchildren babysuggestsexcessivecare,attention,orsolicitude. babyingstudentsbygradingtooeasily mollycoddlesuggestsanexcessivedegreeofcareandattentiontoanother'shealthorwelfare. refusedtomollycoddlehermalingeringson Noun spoil,plunder,booty,prize,lootmeansomethingtakenfromanotherbyforceorcraft.spoil,morecommonlyspoils,appliestowhatbelongsbyrightorcustomtothevictorinwarorpoliticalcontest. thespoilsofpoliticalvictory plunderappliestowhatistakennotonlyinwarbutinrobbery,banditry,grafting,orswindling. abootlegger'splunder bootyimpliesplundertobesharedamongconfederates. thievesdividinguptheirbooty prizeappliestospoilscapturedonthehighseasorterritorialwatersoftheenemy. thewartimerightofseizingprizesatsea lootappliesespeciallytowhatistakenfromvictimsofacatastrophe. pickedthroughtheruinsforloot ExamplesofspoilinaSentence Verb Thefightspoiledtheparty. Thecampingtripwasspoiledbybadweather. Don'tletonemistakespoilyourday. Don'tspoilyourappetitebysnackingtoomuch. Exposuretoairwillspoilthewine. Ispoiledthesaucebyaddingtoomuchgarlic. Themilkwasbeginningtospoil. Thehotelspoilstheirguestswithfinediningandexcellentservice. Shealwaysspoilsmeonmybirthday. Youshouldspoilyourselfwithadayatthespa. Noun thebanditsescapedwiththeirlivesbutnotwiththespoils SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb EvelynSanguinetti,formerIllinoislieutenantgovernor,ishopingtospoilDuPageCountyClerkJeanKaczmarek’ssophomoretermbidintheupcomingNov.8electionforwhichearlyvotingstartedthisweek. — DavidSharos,ChicagoTribune,29Sep.2022 Peoplelovetospoiltheirdogs(cueKaleyCuocoandJustinTheroux!),butchoosingwhatkindoftreattobuyforyourfurryfriendcanbeoverwhelming. — PeopleStaff,Peoplemag,28Sep.2022 FreshmanJacquizzRodgersbreakingloosein2008tospoiltheNo.1Trojans’nationalchampionshipbid. — BillOram,oregonlive,22Sep.2022 Justabovethewindowsill,highlightsinalightblue-graywithtinyburstsofyellowconveywheretheday’slatelightsneaksin—toobright,tooliteral,threateningtospoilthemoodofpoeticsuggestion,butkeptatbaybythecurtains. — WashingtonPost,21Sep.2022 Allenshookofftwofirst-halfinterceptionstoturninastellarperformancetospoilbannernightfortheRamsinLosAngeles. — TimBielik,cleveland,15Sep.2022 TheMilwaukeeBrewershadanopportunitytospoilarecord-settingdayforAdamWainwright,YadierMolinaandtheSt.LouisCardinals. — CurtHogg,JournalSentinel,14Sep.2022 BeforeSaturday’sscreening,publicistsandfestivalorganizerswarnedthoseinattendancenottospoilkeyplotdetails,thoughasever,exactlywhatthosedetailsmightbeisopentointerpretation. — JustinChang,LosAngelesTimes,11Sep.2022 Inadditiontoproducingmoreofthiscompound,thesnapdragongenesseemtohaveanotherbeneficialeffect:Thetomatoesdon’tsoftenandspoilasquicklyasothers. — WIRED,15Sep.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun NineInchNailsthenannouncedtwoconcertsonback-to-backnightsatJacobsPavilionin2021,onlytohaveCOVID-19spoilthataswell. — TroyL.Smith,cleveland,21Sep.2022 NewYork,afterinitialopposition,agreedpreviouslyontheestablishmentofdredgespoildisposalsitesinthewesternandcentralSound. — EdmundH.Mahony,HartfordCourant,2Sep.2022 Please,nobodyspoilDoctorStrangeintheMultiverseofMadnessstarElizabethOlsenon…DoctorStrangeintheMultiverseofMadness. — BrendanMorrow,TheWeek,30June2022 CanTraeYoungspoilthatplanandpullagamebackfortheATL? — oregonlive,22Apr.2022 Notonlyarealgaeandzooplanktonaffected,butnowapexpredatorssuchaskillerwhalesaremovingintoareasoncelockedawaybyice—gainingunfetteredaccesstoaspoilofriches. — SusanneRust,AnchorageDailyNews,26Dec.2021 AnOaklandcouple’sanniverarytriptoEuropeshowshowCOVIDstillhasthepowertoupendplansandspoilvacations. — RitaBeamish,SanFranciscoChronicle,1June2022 Overtheyearstheenormous,elaboratewoodenaltarpiecehadbeenhastilydisassembledandtransportedtosafety,claimedasaspoilofwar,tossedasideandlefttorot. — JoshuaHammer,SmithsonianMagazine,5May2022 Notonlyarealgaeandzooplanktonaffected,butnowapexpredatorssuchaskillerwhalesaremovingintoareasoncelockedawaybyice—gainingunfetteredaccesstoaspoilofriches. — SusanneRust,AnchorageDailyNews,26Dec.2021 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'spoil.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofspoil Verb 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedattransitivesense3bNoun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforspoil Verb MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-Frenchespuiller,espoiller,fromLatinspoliaretostripofnaturalcovering,despoil,fromspoliumskin,hide—moreatspillentry1 Noun MiddleEnglishspoile,fromAnglo-Frenchespuille,fromespuiller LearnMoreAboutspoil Sharespoil PosttheDefinitionofspoiltoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofspoilonTwitter TimeTravelerforspoil Thefirstknownuseofspoilwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearspoil spoffish spoil spoilage SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforspoil LastUpdated 2Oct2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Spoil.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoil.Accessed13Oct.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforspoil spoil noun \ˈspȯi(ə)l \ KidsDefinitionofspoil (Entry1of2) :stolengoods:plunder spoil verb spoiled\ ˈspȯi(ə)ld ,ˈspȯi(ə)lt \alsospoilt\ ˈspȯi(ə)lt \;spoiling KidsDefinitionofspoil (Entry2of2) 1 :plunderentry2,rob 2a :todamagebadly:ruin spoiledmynewsweater b :todamagethequalityoreffectof aquarrelspoiledtheparty c :todecayorlosefreshness,value,orusefulnessbybeingkepttoolong themilkspoiled 3 :todamagethedispositionofbylettinggetawaywithtoomuch spoilachild 4 :tohaveaneagerdesire spoilingforafight MorefromMerriam-Websteronspoil Nglish:TranslationofspoilforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofspoilforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY decorous SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary CommonlyConfusedWordsQuiz Iwenttothe______storetobuyabirthdaycard. stationery stationary Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. 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