6 results for: spoilt
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
spoilt
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spoil
Audio Help [spoil] Pronunciation Key verb, spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing, noun
—Related forms
Audio Help [spoil] Pronunciation Key verb, spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing, noun –verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
–noun
—Idiom
| 1. | to damage severely or harm (something), esp. 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. |
| 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. |
| 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.
|
| 12. | waste material, as that which is cast up in mining, excavating, quarrying, etc. |
| 13. | an imperfectly made object, damaged during the manufacturing process. |
| 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.) ME spoilen < OF espoillier < L spoliāre to despoil, equiv. to spoli(um) booty + -āre inf. suffix; (n.) deriv. of the v. or < OF espoille, deriv. of espoillier
]
] —Related forms
spoil·a·ble, adjective
spoilless, 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.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| spoil
Audio Help (spoil) Pronunciation Key
v. spoiled or spoilt (spoilt), spoil·ing, spoils v. tr.
v. intr.
n.
Phrasal Verb(s): 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.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| spoilt
Audio Help (spoilt) Pronunciation Key
v. A past tense and a past participle of spoil. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| spoilt | |
adjective | |
| 1. | having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention; "a spoiled child" [syn: spoiled] |
| 2. | (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition; "bad meat"; "a refrigerator full of spoilt food" [syn: bad] |
| 3. | affected by blight; anything that mars or prevents growth or prosperity; "a blighted rose"; "blighted urban districts" [syn: blighted] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
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