Spoil
/spɔɪl/
verbnounB1
Definition
To spoil something means to harm or ruin it, making it less good or useful. For example, food can spoil if it gets old and bad. When you spoil a person, you give them too many gifts or let them do whatever they want, which can cause them to behave badly.
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See It in Action
To damage or ruin something
- •The rain spoiled our picnic plans.
- •If you leave milk out of the fridge, it will spoil.
- •The movie was spoiled when someone told me the ending.
To give someone too much attention or gifts, causing bad behavior
- •Parents can spoil their children by giving them everything they want.
- •The child was spoiled and did not listen to the teacher.
(noun) Things taken as a reward, often from a victory or after a fight (less common)
- •The soldiers returned home with spoils from the battle.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of 'spoil' like 'break,' but for things that can lose their good quality, not just stop working
- ✓Picture a fresh apple that turns brown and soft when it spoils—no longer tasty or fresh
- ✓It's the feeling when a surprise is ruined because someone tells you the secret before the right time
- ✓Sounds like 'spoil' → imagine spilling oil on a clean floor, making it dirty and slippery (oil = spoil)
- ✓Think of a child who gets too many toys and starts to complain—this is what it means to be spoiled
- ✓NOT like 'fix' (which makes something better), 'spoil' makes something worse or bad
- ✓NOT like 'share' (giving something good to others), 'spoil' can mean giving too much or ruining the fun
- ✓When food spoils, it changes by itself over time; when a person is spoiled, it happens because of how others treat them
Try Other Words
- •Ruin: to make something completely bad or unusable (Use when damage is strong and total)
- •Damage: to harm something but not always completely destroy it (Use when harm is partial)
- •Mar: to spoil the appearance or quality of something (Use in formal or artistic contexts)
- •Overindulge: to give someone too much, causing bad behavior (Use when talking about spoiling people)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: No clear prefix or suffix; root word 'spoil' stands alone
- •Etymology: From Old French 'espoillier,' meaning to strip or plunder (take by force)
- •Historical development: Originally meant to take goods by force (like spoils of war), later extended to mean damage or ruin
- •Modern usage: Commonly used to mean food going bad, ruining surprises, or giving too much to children
- •Interesting fact: The noun form 'spoils' often refers to goods taken after a fight or war
Reflect & Connect
•How can spoiling a surprise change the feelings of those involved?
•Can spoiling someone be a way of showing love, or does it always cause problems?
Fill in the blanks
1.If you leave fruit outside too long, it will spoil because of ___.
2.The rain spoiled the outdoor event, so we had to ___ inside.
3.Parents who spoil their children often give them too many ___.
4.When someone tells the secret early, it can spoil the ___ for others.
5.Food that spoils usually smells bad and looks ___.
6.She spoiled the surprise by telling everyone ___.
7.Spoil is different from ruin because spoil can happen ___ and slowly.