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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
spoil
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a spoilt/spoiled child (=allowed to do or have whatever he or she wants, and behaving badly)
▪ He’s behaving like a spoilt child.
a spoilt/spoiled child (=allowed to do or have whatever he or she wants, and behaving badly)
▪ He’s behaving like a spoilt child.
be spoiling for a fight (=be very eager to fight with someone)
▪ The kids went round in gangs, all spoiling for a fight.
destroy/spoil a friendship
▪ Their friendship was spoilt after a fierce argument.
spoil the view (=make it look bad)
▪ Some local residents think the wind turbines spoil the view.
spoiled ballot papers (=ones that have been marked incorrectly and so cannot be counted)
spoiled brat
▪ a spoiled brat
spoil...enjoyment
▪ Unfortunately, a small minority want to spoil everyone else’s enjoyment.
spoil/ruin the countryside
▪ Too many tourists can spoil the countryside.
spoil/ruin your appetite (=make you not feel like eating a meal)
▪ Don’t give the children any more sweets – it will spoil their appetite.
spoilt brat (=a spoiled and unpleasant child)
▪ Ben was a spoilt brat .
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
chance
▪ I would do anything rather than spoil your chance in life, and you may have heard different stories about me.
▪ I was beyond fury at this little creature, who had spoiled my chances at amassing a fortune of pink clay.
▪ But it is equally possible that he could spoil any chances he might have had by making some political slip.
child
▪ Spare the rod, spoil the child.
▪ An overempowered child is a spoiled child.
▪ In spoiling the children they are vicariously spoiling themselves.
▪ Rather, a spoiled child is the product of parents who have difficulty saying no and meaning it.
▪ She had spoiled the child rotten.
▪ This was the Western world, where to spare the rod was to spoil the child.
choice
▪ As the Empire player you are spoiled for choice.
▪ Often, we seem to be spoiled for choice and hampered, even paralysed, by our fear of the unknown.
day
▪ They nearly spoiled a great day out.
▪ Nothing was going to spoil a divine day for a Saturday hike.
▪ Wet and wintry weather regularly spoils the riding day treat for disabled youngsters from all over Merseyside.
▪ He spoiled her day in, day out.
▪ And even the police were reluctant to spoil the bikers day.
effect
▪ But the Liberal leader did not let its transience spoil the effect.
▪ They said that twice, which rather spoiled the effect as far as I was concerned.
▪ Some one had slightly spoiled the effect by putting a kettle on one end.
▪ There is some fine modelling on the façade although the drainpipes now spoil much of the effect.
▪ A weak dancer playing Albrecht or James spoils the total effect.
▪ It's difficult to describe in detail without spoiling the effect for future viewers, something that goes for the whole film.
▪ Flat braid usually looks better if hand-sewn as lines of machine sewing may spoil the finished effect.
fight
▪ It seemed to him that Vincent came home spoiling for a fight.
▪ She is an egocentric, angry, combative woman spoiling for a fight.
▪ Be that as it may, Cooper was spoiling for a fight, as this unpublished letter shows.
fun
▪ I won't detain you and spoil your fun.
▪ But the language gap does not spoil their fun as they learn how to dive in the offshore reefs.
▪ Cars, of course, could and should have been excluded but that would have spoiled the fun.
▪ Revealing his conclusion would spoil the fun because Hitt tells his story with a deft touch and a sharp wit.
▪ Why did he have the feeling he was spoiling her fun?
party
▪ Down in London there was only one thing spoiling the continuing party atmosphere.
▪ It quite spoiled our little party.
▪ Sadly it was sooner, and it spoiled the whole party.
▪ However, you can also be firm, to ensure one child does not spoil the party for the rest.
view
▪ These are likely to meet with opposition on the grounds of spoiling favourite views.
▪ The whole Wilder Kaiser area is a conservation area, so nothing will spoil the view.
▪ If building work is likely to spoil a view or block light, they may be able to take action.
■ VERB
let
▪ I shall not let it spoil my performance.
▪ He was a terrific guy who never let his tough-streets upbringing spoil his love for the game or the fans.
▪ I was not going to let Mala spoil the anticipation.
▪ Why should he let her spoil his pleasure?
▪ But the Liberal leader did not let its transience spoil the effect.
try
▪ He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it.
▪ Just as he spoilt the old humanity, he now tries to spoil the new one.
want
▪ I came with Matthew Preston but I don't want to spoil his fun if he wants to stay on.
▪ Yet he was put through three trials by the evil king, who wanted to spoil the marriage.
▪ Now I don't want to spoil your lunch here but we're talking about dieting.
▪ I haven't told my husband about this and I don't want my ex to spoil what I have now.
▪ She thinks you don't want to spoil things with careless talk.
▪ Now I want to spoil you in return.
▪ She didn't want to spoil the evening.
▪ I don't want the jacket spoiled.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be spoilt/spoiled for choice
▪ As the Empire player you are spoiled for choice.
▪ Often, we seem to be spoiled for choice and hampered, even paralysed, by our fear of the unknown.
spoil sb rotten
▪ Brittany's grandparents spoil her rotten.
too many cooks (spoil the broth)
▪ If too many cooks spoil the broth, too many Popes tarnish the faith!
▪ There were too many cooks, they said.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A badly positioned path can spoil the appearance of a garden.
▪ Danny was her favourite grandson and she spoiled him rotten.
▪ Don't let me spoil your plans.
▪ He got very drunk that evening, and seemed determined to spoil things for all of us.
▪ His jealousy spoiled their relationship, and she left him after a few months.
▪ It's too bad her good looks are spoiled by her nose.
▪ Most of the food in the refrigerator had spoiled.
▪ New housing developments are spoiling the countryside for everyone.
▪ One thoughtless comment spoiled the whole evening.
▪ Roses? You're spoiling me, Bill.
▪ She wanted to do her own thing, but was afraid of spoiling Christmas for the rest of the family.
▪ Starting a family so soon would definitely spoil her career prospects for her.
▪ The assassination attempt has definitely spoilt the previously positive atmosphere between the opposing parties.
▪ The bad weather completely spoiled our holiday.
▪ The power station is extremely ugly, and it spoils the view of the sea.
▪ This scandal could spoil the Senator's chances of becoming President.
▪ This was her moment of glory, and she wasn't going to let anyone spoil it.
▪ We've been spoiled by all the good restaurants around here.
▪ We were going to get married, but then war broke out and spoiled everything.
▪ Why did you have to invite Jerry? You've spoiled the whole weekend.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Down in London there was only one thing spoiling the continuing party atmosphere.
▪ He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it.
▪ It seemed to him that Vincent came home spoiling for a fight.
▪ Oh, but it would spoil Christmas - the last Christmas Day she and Susan would have together.
▪ Our national supply of top-grade, rugged military leadership material must already be spoiled.
▪ When giving positive attention, do not spoil the positive message with qualifiers.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
heap
▪ A daunting task lay ahead, as the spoil heaps covered an area of about 300 square yards.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be spoilt/spoiled for choice
▪ As the Empire player you are spoiled for choice.
▪ Often, we seem to be spoiled for choice and hampered, even paralysed, by our fear of the unknown.
spoil sb rotten
▪ Brittany's grandparents spoil her rotten.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Army and nation divide the spoil fifty-fifty.
▪ At this stage we were not aware of the full significance of the movement of the spoil to form the rampart.
▪ So rich was the legacy of the ancients that the fund of spoil has lasted into our own times.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Spoil

Spoil \Spoil\ (spoil), v. i.

  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

Spoil \Spoil\, n. [Cf. OF. espoille, L. spolium.]

  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; waste.

    The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoils.
    --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.

    Spoil bank, a bank formed by the earth taken from an excavation, as of a canal.

    The spoils system, the theory or practice of regarding public offices and their emoluments as so much plunder to be distributed among their active partisans by those who are chosen to responsible offices of administration.

Spoil

Spoil \Spoil\ (spoil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoiled (spoild) or Spoilt (spoilt); p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling.] [F. spolier, OF. espoillier, fr. L. spoliare, fr. spolium spoil. Cf. Despoil, Spoliation.]

  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 possessions. ``Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.''
    --Ex. iii. 2

  2. My sons their old, unhappy sire despise, Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eyes.
    --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 corrupt; to vitiate; to mar.

    Spiritual pride spoils 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.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
spoil

"booty, goods captured in time of war," mid-14c., spoils (collective singular), from spoil (v.) or else from Old French espoille "booty, spoil," from the verb in French, and in part from Latin spolium. Also from the Latin noun are Spanish espolio, Italian spoglio.\n

\nTransferred sense of "that which has been acquired by special effort" is from 1750. Spoils has stood cynically for "public offices, etc." aince at least 1770. Spoils system in U.S. politics attested by 1839, commonly associated with the administration of President Andrew Jackson, on the notion of "to the victor belongs the spoils."

spoil

c.1300, "to strip (someone) of clothes, strip a slain enemy," from Old French espillier "to strip, plunder, pillage," from Latin spoliare "to strip, uncover, lay bare; strip of clothing, rob, plunder, pillage," from spolia, plural of spolium "arms taken from an enemy, booty;" originally "skin stripped from a killed animal," from PIE *spol-yo-, perhaps from root *spel- "to split, to break off" (see spill (v.)).\n

\nFrom late 14c. in English as "strip with violence, rob, pillage, plunder, dispossess; impoverish with excessive taxation." Used c.1400 as the verb to describe Christ's harrowing of Hell. Sense of "destroy, ruin, damage so as to render useless" is from 1560s; that of "to over-indulge" (a child, etc.) is from 1640s (implied in spoiled). Intransitive sense of "become tainted, go bad, lose freshness" is from 1690s. To be spoiling for (a fight, etc.) is from 1865, from notion that one will "spoil" if he doesn't get it.

Wiktionary
spoil

n. 1 (Also in plural: '''spoils''') plunder taken from an enemy or victim. 2 (context uncountable English) Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredge. tailings. vb. 1 (context transitive archaic English) To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour. (from 14th c.) 2 (context transitive archaic English) To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil. (from 14th c.) 3 (context ambitransitive archaic English) To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.). (from 14th c.) 4 (context transitive obsolete English) To carry off (goods) by force; to steal. (14th-19th c.) 5 (context transitive English) To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use. (from 16th c.) 6 (context transitive English) To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess. (from 17th c.) 7 (context intransitive English) Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay. (from 17th c.) 8 (context transitive English) To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it. (from 19th c.) 9 (context transitive English) To reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.

WordNet
spoil
  1. n. (usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war); "to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy"

  2. the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her spoiling my dress was deliberate" [syn: spoiling, spoilage]

  3. the act of stripping and taking by force [syn: spoliation, spoilation, despoilation, despoilment, despoliation]

  4. [also: spoilt]

spoil
  1. v. 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" [syn: botch, bumble, fumble, botch up, muff, blow, flub, screw up, ball up, muck up, bungle, fluff, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, bobble, mishandle, louse up, foul up, mess up, fuck up]

  2. become unfit for consumption or use; "the meat must be eaten before it spoils" [syn: go bad]

  3. alter from the original [syn: corrupt]

  4. treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!" [syn: pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, indulge]

  5. hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent" [syn: thwart, queer, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk]

  6. have a strong desire or urge to do something; "She is itching to start the project"; "He is spoiling for a fight" [syn: itch]

  7. destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country" [syn: rape, despoil, violate, plunder]

  8. make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty" [syn: mar, impair, deflower, vitiate]

  9. [also: spoilt]

Wikipedia
Spoil

Spoil or spoils:

  • Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.
  • Material (such as rock or earth) removed during:
  • An Australian rules football tactic, see One percenter (Australian rules football)#Spoil
Spoil (archaeology)

In Archaeology, spoil is the term used for the soil, dirt and rubble that results from an excavation, and discarded off site on spoil heaps. These heaps are commonly accessed by barrow runs.

Usage examples of "spoil".

One corner of the bundle, wrapped solidly, had abraded to threads, but had not spoiled.

When figure 188 is examined, it will be noticed that the recurve is spoiled by the appendage abutting upon it between the shoulders at a right angle, so it must also be classified with the tented arches.

An appendage abutting upon a loop at right angles between the shoulders is considered to spoil the loop, while an appendage which flows off smoothly is considered to leave the recurve intact.

There are three loop formations, each one of which is spoiled by an appendage abutting upon its recurve between the shoulders at a right angle.

It cannot be classified as a whorl as the only recurve is spoiled by the appendage abutting upon it at the point of contact with the line of flow.

Romulus, more than a thousand years before, had ascended the Capitoline Mount on foot, bearing in his arms the spoil of Acron, and his example had been followed by a long line of Roman heroes.

Dred Scott decision in,--a niche which would have been spoiled by adopting the amendment.

A few moments later Aristarchi had placed her in his boat, the heavy bundle of spoils lay at her feet, and the craft shot swiftly from the door of the house of the Agnus Dei.

Aye, Alienor was certain that Duncan knew much of steal-ing and spoiling women.

If one should be spoiled, it is better to allow it to stand over for assaying along with the next batch.

The more popular support the Ottoman rulers garnered through the ages, the more they sought to sustain their authoritarianism without resort to force, but instead by building bridges to key sectors of the societies they ruled, by allowing others to share in the spoils and by never totally vanquishing their opponents, but instead always leaving them a way out so that they might one day be turned into friends.

We like to watch the relief spread through our groups when we reassure them that they cannot spoil their babies with love and attention, especially during the first year, and that they should feel free to fully indulge and enjoy their babies during this time.

Mothers of fussy, uncomfortable infants tend to worry a lot about spoiling because their babies require enormous 28 29 We urge Jessica not to continue trying to go it alone.

They were intoxicated by his wealth and power: his treasury, the Beit el Mai, held gold, jewels and millions in specie, the spoils of his conquests and the sack of the principal cities of the Nile.

After the French returned home Ducasse reserved all the negroes for himself, and many of the freebooters who had taken part in the expedition, exasperated by such a division of the spoil, deserted the governor and resorted to buccaneering on their own account.