spoil

[spɔɪl]

/[spɔɪl]/ verb

The verdict

“spoil” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden (meist ein Kind) zu sehr verwöhnen, falsch erziehen; verziehen

Corpus desk

Index DE-spoil · spoil · German

spoil · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for spoil
PropertyValue
Headwordspoil
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[spɔɪl]
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “spoil” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

spoilschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

spoil is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [spɔɪl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for spoil, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is spoil, spelled S-P-O-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden (meist ein Kind) zu sehr verwöhnen, falsch erziehen; verziehen
  2. 2
    etwas schlecht, unbrauchbar machen; verderben

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how spoil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "It’s easier to spoil the child, and maybe that’s why we’re doing it."

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spoil"?
"spoil" is spelled S-P-O-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is [spɔɪl].
What does "spoil" mean?
As a verb, "spoil" means: jemanden (meist ein Kind) zu sehr verwöhnen, falsch erziehen; verziehen
How do you pronounce "spoil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spoil" is [spɔɪl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "spoil" come from?
"spoil" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list