ruin

ru|in¹ S3 [ˈru:ın] v [T]

1.) to spoil or destroy something completely

▪ This illness has ruined my life.

▪ His career would be ruined.

▪ All this mud's going to ruin my shoes.

see usage note ↑destroy

2.) to make someone lose all their money

▪ Jefferson was ruined by the lawsuit.

→↑ruined

ruin ²

ruin² n

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: ruine, from Latin ruina]

1.) [U]

a situation in which you have lost all your money, your social position, or the good opinion that people had about you

▪ small businesses facing financial ruin

be on the road to ruin

(=be doing something that will make you lose your money, position etc)

2.) also ruins

the part of a building that is left after the rest has been destroyed

▪ an interesting old ruin

▪ the ruins of a bombed-out office block

3.) the ruins of sth

the parts of something such as an organization, system, or set of ideas that remain after the rest have been destroyed

▪ the ruins of a government that once held so much promise

4.) be/lie in ruins

a) if a building is in ruins, it has fallen down or been badly damaged

b) if someone's life, a country's ↑economy etc is in ruins, it is affected by very great problems

▪ Her marriage was in ruins.

5.) fall into ruin also go to ruin

if something goes to ruin, it gets damaged or destroyed because no one is taking care of it

▪ He had let the farm go to ruin.

6.) be the ruin of sb

to make someone lose all their money, their good health, the good opinion that other people have of them etc

▪ Drinking was the ruin of him.

→go to rack and ruin at ↑rack¹ (4)