ruin

[[t]ru͟ːɪn[/t]]

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ruins, ruining, ruined

1) VERB To ruin something means to severely harm, damage, or spoil it.

[V n] My wife was ruining her health through worry...

[V n] Entire villages have been washed away. Roads and bridges have been destroyed and crops ruined.

Syn:

destroy

2) VERB To ruin someone means to cause them to no longer have any money.

[V n] She accused him of ruining her financially with his taste for the high life.

3) N-UNCOUNT Ruin is the state of no longer having any money.

The farmers say recent inflation has driven them to the brink of ruin.

4) N-UNCOUNT Ruin is the state of being severely damaged or spoiled, or the process of reaching this state.

The vineyards were falling into ruin...

She wasn't going to let her plans go to ruin.

5) N-PLURAL: the N of n The ruins of something are the parts of it that remain after it has been severely damaged or weakened.

The new Turkish republic he helped to build emerged from the ruins of a great empire...

He stood very still, staring in at the ruins of his work.

6) N-COUNT: usu pl The ruins of a building are the parts of it that remain after the rest has fallen down or been destroyed.

One dead child was found in the ruins almost two hours after the explosion...

There's only the mountain in this direction, and higher up an old ruin, an abandoned castle.

7) → See also ruined

8) PHRASE: oft v-link PHR If something is in ruins, it is completely spoiled.

Its heavily-subsidized economy is in ruins...

This country was once proud of its education system. Now it seems to be in ruins.

9) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If a building or place is in ruins, most of it has been destroyed and only parts of it remain.

The abbey was in ruins...

Within Germany, the city of Berlin lay in ruins.