spoils
Use Spoils in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness, etc.: The water stain spoiled the painting. Drought spoiled the corn crop.
2.
to diminish or impair the quality of; affect detrimentally: Bad weather spoiled their vacation.
3.
to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: to spoil a child by pampering him.
4.
Archaic. to strip (persons, places, etc.) of goods, valuables, etc.; plunder; pillage; despoil.
5.
Archaic. to take or seize by force.
verb (used without object)
6.
to become bad, or unfit for use, as food or other perishable substances; become tainted or putrid: Milk spoils if not refrigerated.
7.
to plunder, pillage, or rob.
00:10
Spoils
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
noun
Idioms 8.
Often, spoils. booty, loot, or plunder taken in war or robbery.
9.
the act of plundering.
10.
an object of plundering.
11.
Usually, spoils.
a.
the emoluments and advantages of public office viewed as won by a victorious political party: the spoils of office.
b.
prizes won or treasures accumulated: a child's spoils brought home from a party.
12.
waste material, as that which is cast up in mining, excavating, quarrying, etc.
14.
be spoiling for, Informal. to be very eager for; be desirous of: It was obvious that he was spoiling for a fight.
Origin:
1300–50; (v.) Middle English spoilen < Old French espoillier < Latin spoliāre to despoil, equivalent to spoli(um) booty + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) derivative of the v. or < Old French espoille, derivative of espoillier
1300–50; (v.) Middle English spoilen < Old French espoillier < Latin spoliāre to despoil, equivalent to spoli(um) booty + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) derivative of the v. or < Old French espoille, derivative of espoillier
Related forms
spoil·a·ble, adjective
spoil·less, adjective
un·spoil·a·ble, adjective
un·spoiled, adjective
Synonyms
1. disfigure, destroy, demolish, mar. Spoil, ruin, wreck agree in meaning to reduce the value, quality, usefulness, etc., of anything. Spoil is the general term: to spoil a delicate fabric. Ruin implies doing completely destructive or irreparable injury: to ruin one's health. Wreck implies a violent breaking up or demolition: to wreck oneself with drink; to wreck a building.
1. disfigure, destroy, demolish, mar. Spoil, ruin, wreck agree in meaning to reduce the value, quality, usefulness, etc., of anything. Spoil is the general term: to spoil a delicate fabric. Ruin implies doing completely destructive or irreparable injury: to ruin one's health. Wreck implies a violent breaking up or demolition: to wreck oneself with drink; to wreck a building.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To spoils
Collins
World English Dictionary
spoil (spɔɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , spoils, spoiling, spoilt, 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. | (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. | 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] | |
| spoils (spɔɪlz) | |
| —pl n | |
| 1. | (sometimes singular) valuables seized by violence, esp in war |
| 2. | chiefly (US) See also spoils system the rewards and benefits of public office regarded as plunder for the winning party or candidate |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spoil
c.1300, from O.Fr. espoillier "to strip, plunder," from L. spoliare "to strip of clothing, rob," from spolium "armor stripped from an enemy, booty;" originally "skin stripped from a killed animal," from PIE *spol-yo-, perhaps from base *spel- "to split, to break off" (cf. Gk. aspalon "skin, hide," spolas
"flayed skin;" Lith. spaliai "shives of flax;" O.C.S. rasplatiti "to cleave, split;" M.L.G. spalden, O.H.G. spaltan "to split;" Skt. sphatayati "splits"). Sense of "to damage so as to render useless" is from 1563; that of "to over-indulge" (a child, etc.) is from 1648 (implied in spoiled). Intransitive sense of "to go bad" is from 1692. To be spoiling for (a fight, etc.) is from 1865, from notion that one will "spoil" if he doesn't get it. The noun meaning "goods captured in time of war" is from c.1300. Spoiler "one who ruins an opponent's chances" is from 1950. Spoil-sport attested from 1801.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
spoil definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
As gasoline cars gained the upper hand, they were able to capture spoils that go to the victors of technological battles.
Yet it is estimated that about half such food spoils on the way to the consumer.
The contractor removed excess spoils above the culvert and material that had fallen into the culvert from the road slope.
The oligarchs, as they were known, were rapacious sorts who jousted among themselves for spoils.
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