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PlainSpell

ruin

/ˈɹuː.ɪn/noun, verb

ruin is spelled R-U-I-N: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ruin means “The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ruin is ruins.

How many letters and syllables are in ruin?

Letters4: R-U-I-N
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing20 times per million words; the 4,224th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is ruin?

Ruin appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ruin?

  • US /ˈɹuː.ɪn/
  • US [ˈɹuwɪn]

Ruin has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ruin.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with ruin?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ruin from its last stressed vowel (/uɪn/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of ruin

  • ruins plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • ruining participle, present
  • ruined participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ruin mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.

  2. 2

    The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.

    The monastery has fallen into ruin.

  3. 3

    Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.

    Gambling has been the ruin of many.

  4. 4

    The act of ruining something.

  5. 5

    Clipping of ruined orgasm

  6. 6

    obsoleteA fall or tumble.

  7. 7

    A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.

    the ruin of a ship or an army

  8. 8

    Complete financial loss; bankruptcy.

verb

  1. 1

    To cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business.

    With all these purchases, you surely mean to ruin us!

  2. 2

    To destroy or render something no longer usable or operable.

    He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.

  3. 3

    To destroy (e.g. a city) so as to leave ruins.

  4. 4

    To upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.

    My car breaking down just as I was on the road ruined my vacation.

  5. 5

    To make something less enjoyable or likeable.

    I used to love that song, but being assaulted when that song was playing ruined the song for me.

  6. 6

    To make (someone) have a ruined orgasm.

  7. 7

    To reveal the ending of (a story); to spoil.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo fall into a state of decay.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Ruin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchruine (remains of destroyed construction), ruiner (to cause the economical ruin of), abîmer, foutre en l'air, massacrer (to destroy), gâcher (to spoil)
GermanRuine (remains of destroyed construction), ruinieren, auf die Knie zwingen, vernichten (to cause the economical ruin of), kaputtmachen (to destroy), Ruin (the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed)
Portugueseruína (remains of destroyed construction), arruinar (to cause the economical ruin of), destruir, acabar com (to spoil)
Spanishruina (remains of destroyed construction), desbaratar, arruinar (to cause the economical ruin of), ruinar, estropear (to destroy), dar al traste (to spoil)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ruin come from?

From Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“to fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after ruin