spoil

/spɔɪl/

//spɔɪl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"spoil" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spoil” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,543 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#9,543
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of arms or armour.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spoil vs spot
60% similar
spoil vs sport
60% similar
spoil vs spoke
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for spoil
PropertyValue
Headwordspoil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/spɔɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,543
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “spoil” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). spoil lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for spoil is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /spɔɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,543 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for spoil, with forms such as "psoil", "sopil", and "spiol". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spot", "sport", "spoke", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spoilen, spuylen, borrowed from Old French espoillier, espollier, espuler, from Latin spoliāre (“pillage, ruin, spoil”). The correct English form is spoil, spelled S-P-O-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of arms or armour.
  2. 2
    To strip or deprive (someone) of possessions; to rob, despoil.
  3. 3
    To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).
  4. 4
    To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.
  5. 5
    To ruin; to damage in such a way as to make undesirable or unusable.
  6. 6
    To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.
  7. 7
    To go bad; to become sour or rancid; to decay.
  8. 8
    To render (a ballot) invalid by deliberately defacing.
  9. 9
    To prematurely reveal major events or the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing ahead of time as a spoiler.
  10. 10
    To reduce the lift generated by an airplane or wing by deflecting air upwards, usually with a spoiler.
  11. 11
    To be very eager (for something).

Etymology

From Middle English spoilen, spuylen, borrowed from Old French espoillier, espollier, espuler, from Latin spoliāre (“pillage, ruin, spoil”).

Synonyms

damagedestroysullyruincoddlepamperindulgemollycoddleball upblightbumblebotchbugger upbunglecontaminatecorruptcrabdepravedisruptdisturbfoilfuck upjack upmarmess upmishandlemommickpolluteput a crimp inqueerscrew upsoilsourspoilstainundoupsetturn upside downupset the applecartvitiate

Antonyms

aidcultivatefosternurturesupportsustainupholdprop uphold upbolster

This word in other languages

expoliar(Español)gâter(Français)plündern(Deutsch)despojar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psoil,sopil,spiol,spoill,spoli,sppoil,sspoil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spoil - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psoil2sopil2spiol2spoill1spoli2sppoil1sspoil1
Edit distance from "spoil"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). 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: To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of arms or armour.
What words are commonly confused with "spoil"?
"spoil" is commonly confused with "spot", "sport", "spoke". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
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 is the origin of the word "spoil"?
From Middle English spoilen, spuylen, borrowed from Old French espoillier, espollier, espuler, from Latin spoliāre (“pillage, ruin, spoil”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Using “spoil”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-O-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /spɔɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “spot” - see the side-by-side comparison. spoil vs spot
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list