How to spell spoil

hear itspoil/spɔɪl/verbLong vowels

What it means: To ruin or damage something.

In a sentence: Don't spoil your dinner by eating too much candy!

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as spoyl or spoilr.

Same family: spoiled, spoiling, spoiler, spoilage, ruin. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Spoil” comes from Old French *espillier*, meaning to strip or plunder, and originally referred to taking goods by force. Over time, its meaning shifted to include ruining food, plans, or even surprises.

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Words like this

avoid · voice · phenomenon · vowel · prove · invitation · toilet · possible

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