spoil

spoil [ spɔıl ] verb **

▸ 1 make worse

▸ 2 allow child everything

▸ 3 treat someone with care

▸ 4 food: become too old

▸ 5 in election

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) transitive to affect something in a way that makes it worse, less attractive, or less enjoyable:

Radio towers spoiled the view.

The whole show was spoiled by the lack of decent actors.

I really hope it doesn't rain that would spoil everything.

2. ) transitive to always allow a child to have or do everything they want, so that they learn to think only of themselves:

Stop saying yes all the time you're spoiling her.

spoil someone rotten (=spoil them very much): His mother spoils him rotten.

3. ) transitive to treat someone with a lot of care and kindness:

It's Mother's Day let them spoil you a little!

4. ) intransitive if food spoils, it becomes unsafe to eat because it is too old:

We'd better eat the fish before it spoils.

5. ) transitive AMERICAN to accidentally do something that makes a BALLOT PAPER unable to be read and therefore unable to be counted in an election.

be spoiled by something

to have or be able to use something that is special or unusual, so that you miss having it when it is not there:

We were spoiled by all the great restaurants we had to choose from in London it's not quite the same here.

be spoiling for a fight/conflict/clash

to want to fight or argue with someone

spoil someone's chances

to make it impossible for someone to achieve something that they could have achieved fairly easily:

A shoulder injury spoiled his chances of victory in the finals.