spoil

verb (past and past participle spoilt (chiefly British) or spoiled)

• 1diminish or destroy the value or quality of:I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun a series of political blunders spoilt their chances of being re-elected
• prevent someone from enjoying (an occasion or event):she was afraid of spoiling Christmas for the rest of the family
• mark (a ballot paper) incorrectly so as to make one’s vote invalid, especially as a gesture of protest: the group called on its supporters to spoil their papers
• [no object] (of food) become unfit for eating:I’ve got some ham that’ll spoil if we don’t eat it tonight

• 2harm the character of (a child) by being too lenient or indulgent:the last thing I want to do is spoil Thomas (as adjective spoilt or spoiled)a spoilt child
• treat with great or excessive kindness, consideration, or generosity:breakfast in bed—you’re spoiling me!

• 3 [no object] (be spoiling for) be extremely or aggressively eager for:Cooper was spoiling for a fight

• 4 archaic rob (a person or a place) of goods or possessions by force or violence: the enemy entered into Hereford, spoiled and fired the city, and razed the walls to the ground

noun

• 1 (usually spoils) goods stolen or taken forcibly from a person or place:the looters carried their spoils away

• 2 [mass noun] waste material brought up during the course of an excavation or a dredging or mining operation:colliery spoil