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# spoil

«spoil» in Mova's school dictionary: **to ruin it or make it worse** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (spoil, spoils, spoiled or spoilt, spoiling); noun (the spoils — rare)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To spoil something means to ruin it or make it worse. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#m1)

2) Food spoils when it goes bad and is no longer safe to eat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#m2)

3) To spoil a child means to give them everything they want, so they may expect too much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#m3)

4) To spoil also means to treat someone kindly in a special way. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#m4)

5) Spoil can also mean goods taken by force, such as loot after a battle or raid. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, food spoils if left out of the fridge; milk smells sour and bread goes mouldy. In stories and films, a spoiler tells the ending and spoils the surprise. In manners lessons, a spoiled child sulks when they don't get their way. Phrases: spoil the fun, spoil the surprise, spoiled rotten, a spoilsport, spoiler.

### examples

- The rain spoiled our picnic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x1)
- Don't tell me the ending, you'll spoil it! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x2)
- Milk spoils quickly if you leave it in the sun. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x3)
- His grandparents spoil him with sweets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x4)
- Don't be a spoilsport; come and play. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x5)
- One mean comment spoiled her day. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x6)
- Throw away food that has spoiled. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x7)
- Mum spoiled us with pancakes on Sunday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x8)
- The Ass was asked to divide the spoil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/#x9)

### note

Past: spoiled or spoilt (spoilt is more British). «Spoilt/spoiled child» is a criticism. A spoiler is something that gives away a story's ending. Spoiled food can make you ill; when in doubt, throw it out.

### In the corpora

- [If the wrong things go in a recycling bin, a whole load can be spoiled.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/15/)
- [jiùjiu («JYO-jyo») is mum's brother, in many families a special, spoiling uncle.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chinese-street/10-grandparents-aunties-uncles/17/)
- [Spoiled food may smell sour or rotten because bacteria (tiny living things too small to see) and moulds are breaking it down.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/13-smells-that-warn/14/)
- [Cheating spoils a game, because nobody can trust the result.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/52-friends-teams-and-fair-play/16/)
- [Spoiled food, food past its use-by date and food left out for hours on a hot day can cause food poisoning.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/80-sleep-and-healthy-eating/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «spoil» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spoil/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.