Spoil v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoiled or Spoilt p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling.]
1. 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 possessions. “Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.”
My sons their old, unhappy sire despise,
Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eyes. --Pope.
2. To seize by violence; to take by force; to plunder.
No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man. --Mark iii. 27.
3. To cause to decay and perish; to corrupt; to vitiate; to mar.
Spiritual pride spoils many graces. --Jer. Taylor.
4. 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.
spoiling
n 1: the process of becoming spoiled [syn: spoilage]
2: the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her
spoiling my dress was deliberate" [syn: spoil, spoilage]