spoil

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: soil, spool, speil, poil, spil, spoi, spail

Antonyms: soil, spool, speil, poil, spil, spoi, spail

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive|archaic}} To [[strip#Verb|strip]] (someone who has been killed or defeated) of [[arms]] or [[armour]]. {{defdate|from 14th c.}}
2. {{lb|en|transitive|archaic}} To [[strip#Verb|strip]] or [[deprive]] (someone) of [[possession]]s; to [[rob]], [[despoil]]. {{defdate|from 14th c.}}
3. {{lb|en|ambitransitive|archaic}} To [[plunder]], [[pillage]] (a city, country etc.). {{defdate|from 14th c.}}
4. {{lb|en|transitive|obsolete}} To [[carry off]] (goods) by [[force]]; to [[steal]]. {{defdate|14th|19th c.}}
5. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[ruin#Verb|ruin]]; to [[damage#Verb|damage]] in such a way as to make [[undesirable]] or [[unusable]]. {{defdate|from 16th c.}}
6. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[ruin#Verb|ruin]] the [[character]] of, by [[overindulgence]]; to [[coddle]] or [[pamper]] to excess. {{defdate|from 17th c.}}
7. {{lb|en|intransitive|of food or drink}} To [[go bad]]; to become [[sour]] or [[rancid]]; to [[decay#Verb|decay]]. {{defdate|from 17th c.}}
8. {{lb|en|transitive}} To render (a [[ballot]]) [[invalid]] by deliberately [[deface|defacing]]. {{defdate|from 19th c.}}
9. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[premature]]ly reveal major events or the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a [[surprise]]) by exposing ahead of time as a [[spoiler]].
10. {{lb|en|aviation}} To reduce the [[lift#Noun|lift]] generated by an [[airplane]] or [[wing]] by deflecting air upwards, usually with a [[spoiler]].
11. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To be very [[eager]] (for something). {{defdate|from 19th c.}}

Noun

1. (Also in plural: '''spoils''') [[plunder|Plunder]] taken from an enemy or victim.
2. {{lb|en|archaic}} The act of taking plunder from an enemy or victim; [[spoliation]], [[pillage]], [[rapine]].
3. {{lb|en|uncountable}} Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an [[excavation]], or in [[mining]] or [[dredge|dredging]]. [[tailings|Tailings]]. Such material could be utilised somewhere else.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.