ruin

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♦ ruin /r'uːɪn/ (ruins ruining ruined)
1 [VERB] V n
To ruin something means to severely harm, damage, or spoil it.
My wife was ruining her health through worry...
2 [VERB] V n
To ruin someone means to cause them to no longer have any money.
She accused him of ruining her financially with his taste for the high life.
3 [N-UNCOUNT]
Ruin is the state of no longer having any money.
The farmers say recent inflation has driven them to the brink of ruin.
4 [N-UNCOUNT]
Ruin is the state of being severely damaged or spoiled, or the process of reaching this state.
The vineyards were falling into ruin...
5 [N-PLURAL] the N of n
The ruins of something are the parts of it that remain after it has been severely damaged or weakened.
The new Turkish republic he helped to build emerged from the ruins of a great empire...
6 [N-COUNT] usu pl
The ruins of a building are the parts of it that remain after the rest has fallen down or been destroyed.
One dead child was found in the ruins almost two hours after the explosion...
7
see also ruined
8 [PHRASE] oft v-link PHR
If something is in ruins, it is completely spoiled.
Its heavily-subsidized economy is in ruins...
9 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR
If a building or place is in ruins, most of it has been destroyed and only parts of it remain.
The abbey was in ruins...

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