ruin: Meaning and Definition of

ru•in

Pronunciation: (r'in), [key]
— n.
  1. the remains of a building, city, etc., that has been destroyed or that is in disrepair or a state of decay: We visited the ruins of ancient Greece.
  2. a destroyed or decayed building, town, etc.
  3. a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition: The building fell to ruin.
  4. the downfall, decay, or destruction of anything.
  5. the complete loss of health, means, position, hope, or the like.
  6. something that causes a downfall or destruction; blight: Alcohol was his ruin.
  7. the downfall of a person; undoing: the ruin of Oedipus.
  8. a person as the wreck of his or her former self; ravaged individual.
  9. the act of causing destruction or a downfall.
—v.t.
  1. to reduce to ruin; devastate.
  2. to bring (a person, company, etc.) to financial ruin; bankrupt.
  3. to injure (a thing) irretrievably.
  4. to induce (a woman) to surrender her virginity; deflower.
—v.i.
  1. to fall into ruins; fall to pieces.
  2. to come to ruin.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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