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noun

as in loot
valuables stolen or taken by force the bandits escaped with their lives but not with the spoils

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun spoil differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of spoil are booty, loot, plunder, prize, and spoils. While all these words mean "something taken from another by force or craft," spoil, more commonly spoils, applies to what belongs by right or custom to the victor in war or political contest.

the spoils of political victory

When would booty be a good substitute for spoil?

Although the words booty and spoil have much in common, booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

When is it sensible to use loot instead of spoil?

The words loot and spoil are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

When is plunder a more appropriate choice than spoil?

The synonyms plunder and spoil are sometimes interchangeable, but plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

In what contexts can prize take the place of spoil?

While in some cases nearly identical to spoil, prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy.

the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spoil
Verb
Stay At The Inn At Bald Head Island Let owners and innkeepers Gail and Dann Jackson spoil you with hospitality at this charming bed and breakfast located in Harbor Village. Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025 The nonprofit also pledged to assist villagers without power or running water, especially those whose food has spoiled at the start of the winter season. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
This dish will stay good for up to a month in the fridge, but good luck holding on to a jar for that long without eating all its spoils first. Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025 Many middle-income consumers own homes and have shared the spoils from rising property values, Zandi said. Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for spoil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoil
Verb
  • That means Zaha will be suspended for Game 1 of the playoffs against NYCFC, which tainted an otherwise near-perfect evening for the home team.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2025
  • In its new filing, Mangione’s defense team expressed concern about tainting the pool of prospective jurors.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • According to the study, Igatuia Cavernicola likely plays an important role in its cave ecosystem by eating decomposing organic matter, thereby cycling nutrients and contributing to the habitat’s overall health and function.
    Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Use a mulching mower to chop the leaves into small pieces that will decompose quickly and add nutrients to the soil.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • An artillery round fired over Interstate 5 at Sunday’s live-fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton prematurely detonated, striking and damaging a California Highway Patrol vehicle that was part of Vice President JD Vance’s detail, the CHP said Sunday.
    Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Thermal runaway, or self-heating, can occur without warning in lithium batteries as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged or improperly packed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The other people Ye tries to big-foot into indulging his perverse Peter Pan complex fare more poorly.
    Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Whether that’s indulging Wes Anderson’s imagination (as a three-time member of his ever-growing ensemble) or producing her own projects, Johansson always manages to surprise.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The rebels, apparently satisfied with their loot, paid no mind as the women got into the second car, joining one of the Assad regime’s most notorious henchmen.
    Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Players can also look forward to haunted map locations, quests and limited-time loot.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Though his career was marked by flashes of brilliance, including another 1,400-yard rushing season in 2015, it was also marred by injuries and off-field challenges.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
  • But the country’s industrial innovation has also been marred by production overcapacity.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Ethan Hawke stars as Lorenz Hart of legendary songsmiths Rodgers & Hart as the prolific partnership disintegrates to his great dismay.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025
  • This difference sounds small, but preventing a few tenths of a degree of warming could keep polar ice caps from completely disintegrating, coral reefs from collapsing and other tipping points from triggering.
    Syris Valentine, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti and an additional 1,100 reported injured, according to the United Nations.
    NPR, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Ten minutes later, Martinelli actually scored after making a good run in behind from the right wing as Saka had gone off injured.
    Art de Roché, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Spoil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoil. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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