Definition of spoil

• 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.
• v. t. - To seize by violence;; to take by force; to plunder.
• v. t. - To cause to decay and perish; to corrput; to vitiate; to mar.
• 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.
• v. i. - To practice plunder or robbery.
• v. i. - To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather.
• n. - That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty.
• 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.
• n. - That which is gained by strength or effort.
• n. - The act or practice of plundering; robbery; aste.
• n. - Corruption; cause of corruption.
• n. - The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal.