spoil Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war)
    • to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy
  2. noun the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it
    spoilage; spoiling.
    • her spoiling my dress was deliberate
  3. noun the act of stripping and taking by force
    despoliation; spoilation; spoliation; despoilation; despoilment.
  4. verb make a mess of, destroy or ruin
    muck up; foul up; blow; botch up; botch; bollix; fumble; mishandle; bollocks; bumble; ball up; bobble; bollocks up; bollix up; fuck up; fluff; flub; bodge; muff; louse up; mess up; screw up; bungle.
    • I botched the dinner and we had to eat out
    • the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement
  5. verb become unfit for consumption or use
    go bad.
    • the meat must be eaten before it spoils
  6. verb alter from the original
    corrupt.
  7. verb treat with excessive indulgence
    featherbed; pamper; cosset; cocker; mollycoddle; indulge; baby; coddle.
    • grandparents often pamper the children
    • Let's not mollycoddle our students!
  8. verb hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
    thwart; bilk; cross; frustrate; baffle; foil; queer; scotch.
    • What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge
    • foil your opponent
  9. verb have a strong desire or urge to do something
    itch.
    • She is itching to start the project
    • He is spoiling for a fight
  10. verb destroy and strip of its possession
    plunder; violate; rape; despoil.
    • The soldiers raped the beautiful country
  11. verb make imperfect
    impair; mar; deflower; vitiate.
    • nothing marred her beauty

WordNet

Spoil transitive verb
Etymology
F. spolier, OF. espoilelier, fr. L. spoliare, fr. spolium spoil. Cf. Despoil, Spoliation.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Spoiled or Spoilt present participle & verbal noun Spoiling
Definitions
  1. To plunder; to strip by violence; to pillage; to rob; -- with of before the name of the thing taken; as, to spoil one of his goods or possession. "Ye shall spoil the Egyptians." Ex. iii. 22.
    My sons their old, unhappy sire despise, Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eues. Pope.
  2. To seize by violence;; to take by force; to plunder.
    No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man. Mark iii. 27.
  3. To cause to decay and perish; to corrput; to vitiate; to mar.
    Spiritual pride spils many graces. Jer. Taylor.
  4. To render useless by injury; to injure fatally; to ruin; to destroy; as, to spoil paper; to have the crops spoiled by insects; to spoil the eyes by reading.
Spoil intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To practice plunder or robbery.
    Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil. Spenser.
  2. To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather.
Spoil noun
Etymology
Cf. OF. espoille, L. spolium.
Definitions
  1. That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty.
    Gentle gales, Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole Those balmy spoils. Milton.
  2. Public offices and their emoluments regarded as the peculiar property of a successful party or faction, to be bestowed for its own advantage; -- commonly in the plural; as to the victor belong the spoils.
    From a principle of gratitude I adhered to the coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. Gibbon.
  3. That which is gained by strength or effort.
    each science and each art his spoil. Bentley.
  4. The act or practice of plundering; robbery; aste.
    The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoil. Shak.
  5. Corruption; cause of corruption. Archaic
    Villainous company hath been the spoil of me. Shak.
  6. The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal. Obs. Bacon.

Webster 1913