n. [ Cf. OF. espoille, L. spolium. ] 1. That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gentle gales,
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Public offices and their emoluments regarded as the peculiar property of a successful party or faction, to be bestowed for its own advantage; -- commonly in the plural; as, to the victor belong the spoils. [ 1913 Webster ]

From a principle of gratitude I adhered to the coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. Gibbon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is gained by strength or effort. [ 1913 Webster ]

Each science and each art his spoil. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The act or practice of plundering; robbery; waste. [ 1913 Webster ]

The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoils. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Corruption; cause of corruption. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Villainous company hath been the spoil of me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Spoil bank, a bank formed by the earth taken from an excavation, as of a canal. --
The spoils system, the theory or practice of regarding public offices and their emoluments as so much plunder to be distributed among their active partisans by those who are chosen to responsible offices of administration. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Spoiled r Spoilt p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling. ] [ F. spolier, OF. espoillier, fr. L. spoliare, fr. spolium spoil. Cf. Despoil, Spoliation. ] 1. To plunder; to strip by violence; to pillage; to rob; -- with of before the name of the thing taken; as, to spoil one of his goods or possessions. “Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.” Ex. iii. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

My sons their old, unhappy sire despise,
Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eyes. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To seize by violence; to take by force; to plunder. [ 1913 Webster ]

No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man. Mark iii. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to decay and perish; to corrupt; to vitiate; to mar. [ 1913 Webster ]

Spiritual pride spoils many graces. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To render useless by injury; to injure fatally; to ruin; to destroy; as, to spoil paper; to have the crops spoiled by insects; to spoil the eyes by reading. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To practice plunder or robbery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being spoiled. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a despoiler. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who corrupts, mars, or renders useless. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Aeronautics) A device attached to the wing of an airplane or other airfoil, which breaks the smooth flow of air during flight and decreases the lift of the airfoil; -- used to control the attitude of the airplane during banking or descent. [ PJC ]

4. A device attached to a car to decrease lift and increase traction, usually shaped as a flat surface and attached above the rear of the car, and working on the same principal as the aircraft spoiler{ 3 }. [ PJC ]

n. A certain game at cards in which, if no player wins three of the five tricks possible on any deal, the game is said to be spoiled. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Wasteful; rapacious. [ Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Spoilsmen One who serves a cause or a party for a share of the spoils; in United States politics, one who makes or recognizes a demand for public office on the ground of partisan service; also, one who sanctions such a policy in appointments to the public service. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who promises or distributes public offices and their emoluments as the price of services to a party or its leaders. [ 1913 Webster ]