| Spoil 1. (v. t.) 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 possession. 2. (v. t.) To seize by violence;; to take by force; to plunder. 3. (v. t.) To cause to decay and perish; to corrupt; to vitiate; to mar. 4. (v. t.) 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. 5. (v. i.) To practice plunder or robbery. 6. (v. i.) To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather. 7. (n.) That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty. 8. (n.) 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. 9. (n.) That which is gained by strength or effort. 10. (n.) The act or practice of plundering; robbery. 11. (n.) Corruption; cause of corruption. 12. (n.) The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal. Thesaurus Entries accommodate, acquisition, baby, baffle, balk, be after, be all thumbs, be desirous of, be spoiling for, blackmail, blast, blemish, blight, blot, blunder, blunder away, blunder into, blunder on, blunder upon, boggle, boodle, booty, botch, brave, break down, break up, bumble, bungle, butcher, canker, cater to, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, cocker, coddle, commit a gaffe, confound, confront, contravene, corrupt, cosset, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, crave, cross, crumble, crumble into dust, curdle, damage, dash, decay, decompose, deface, defeat, defile, deflorate, defy, demolish, depredate, desecrate, desolate, despoil, destroy, devastate, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, disfigure, dish, disintegrate, disrupt, dote on, dysphemize, elude, fall into decay, fall to pieces, faux pas, favor, fester, fleece, flounder, flummox, foil, forage, foray, force, freeboot, frustrate, fumble, gangrene, give way to, go bad, go off, go to pieces, goods, grab, graft, gratify, gut, harm, haul, hot goods, humor, hurt, impair, indulge, injure, itch for, kill, knock the chocks, look a fright, look a mess, look bad, look for, look like hell, look something terrible, loot, lumber, mar, maraud, mess up, mildew, miscue, mold, molder, mollycoddle, mortify, moulder, much, muddle, muff, murder, necrose, nonplus, oblige, offend, offend the eye, outrage, pamper, perks, perplex, perquisite, pickings, pillage, play havoc with, please, plunder, pork barrel, prejudice, prey on, prize, public till, public trough, putrefy, putresce, queer, raid, rankle, ransack, ravage, raven, ravish, reive, rifle, rot, ruin, sabotage, sack, satisfy, scar, scotch, slip, snafu, sphacelate, spike, spoils, spoils of office, spoliate, spoliation, squeeze, stealings, stolen goods, stonewall, stumble, stump, suppurate, swag, sweep, taint, take, tarnish, thwart, till, trip, turn, uglify, upset, violate, vitiate, waste, wreck, yearn for, yield to |