Definition of "ruin"

ruin

/ˈɹuː.ɪn/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural ruins
1. (countable, sometimes in the plural) The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
  Quotations
  The Veian and the Gabian towirs shall fall, / And one promiscuous ruin cover all; / Nor, after length of years, a stone betray / The place where once the very ruins lay.
  1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
  The labour of a day will not build up a virtuous habit on the ruins of an old and vicious character.
  a. 1812, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, sermon
  A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
  1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎
  Dr. Manuel: No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain.
  2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Eden Prime
2. (uncountable) The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.
3. (uncountable) Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.
  Quotations
  The errors of young men are the ruin of business.
  1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret
  The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He […] played a lone hand, […]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.
  1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, page 01
4. The act of ruining something.
5. (obsolete) A fall or tumble.
  Quotations
  His ruin startled th' other steeds.The spelling has been modernized.
  , Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new edition, volumes (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843,
6. A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.
  Quotations
  Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
  1768, Thomas Gray, The Bard
7. (uncountable) Complete financial loss; bankruptcy.
verb
third-person singular simple present ruins, present participle ruining, simple past and past participle ruined or (dialectal, nonstandard) ruint
1. (transitive) To cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business.
  Quotations
  In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us; for he kept on staying week after week, and at last month after month, so that all the money had been long exhausted...
  1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883
2. To destroy or make something no longer usable.
  Quotations
  By the fireside there are old men seated, / Seeing ruined cities in the ashes.
  1857, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Mile-Stone
3. To upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.
4. To make something less enjoyable or likeable.
5. To reveal the ending of (a story); to spoil.
6. (obsolete) To fall into a state of decay.
  Quotations
  Though he his house of polisht marble build, / Yet shall it ruine like the Moth's fraile cell
  1636, George Sandys, Paraphrase upon the Psalmes and upon the Hymnes dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments
7. (transitive, historical) To seduce or debauch, and thus harm the social standing of.

Definition of "ruin"

ruin

noun

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verb

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