ruin

CEFRB1

/ˈɹuː.ɪn/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To destroy or badly damage something.

  2. 02

    noun

    The remains of a destroyed building or place.

Examples

  • A fussy referee can ruin a bout.

  • A large number of churches fell into ruin after the revolution.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈɹuwɪn]

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.

  2. The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.

noun

Extra meaning

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

More examples

In context

  • Be more careful. Rushing through things is going to ruin your work.

  • Gambling has been the ruin of many.

  • the ruin of a ship or an army

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

If you pour water on your laptop, it will completely blank the device.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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