Words / B2

SPOYL/spɔɪl/

To spoil is to damage or ruin, to go bad (food), or to harm a child by giving too much: spoil the unseen; food spoils. Ruin is heavier; wreck is violent. Do not spoil the unseen in the corridor. Mix-up: spill is liquid (previous entry); spoils are stolen goods in old texts. Do not write spoil for a chemical spill.

Meaning

To damage or ruin; also to go bad (food), or to harm a child by giving too much.

Examples

• “Do not spoil the unseen by discussing it in the corridor before period five.”
• “Milk spoils if the fridge fails, which is the go-bad sense.”

Good to know

spoil + noun; spoilt / spoiled; spoil a child. Heavier: ruin. Trap: spill. Exams, food, and parenting. Ruin or go bad, not a leak.

Near in meaning

ruin

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