tr.v., -spoiled, -spoil·ing, -spoils.
- To sack; plunder.
- To deprive of something valuable by force; rob: a region despoiled of its scenic beauty by unchecked development.
[Middle English despoilen, from Old French despoillier, from Latin dēspoliāre : dē-, de- + spoliāre, to plunder (from spolium, booty).]
despoiler de·spoil'er n.despoilment de·spoil'ment n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
