1
a
: to damage irreparably
b
: bankrupt, impoverish
ruined by stock speculation
2
: to subject to frustration, failure, or disaster
will ruin your chances of promotion
: to become ruined
ruiner
noun
1
a
: the state of being ruined
—archaic except in plural
the city lay in ruins
b
: the remains of something destroyed
—usually used in plural
the ruins of an ancient temple
the ruins of his life
2
: a ruined building, person, or object
4
a
: physical, moral, economic, or social collapse
b
archaic
: a falling down : collapse
from age to age … the crash of ruin fitfully resounds—
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth5
: a cause of destruction
Examples of ruin in a Sentence
Verb
The bad weather ruined the party.
I ruined the sauce by adding too much garlic.
His low test scores ruined his chances of getting into a good school.
Poor customer service ruined the company's reputation.
He was ruined by debt.
The scandal ruined the mayor.
Noun
The incident led to the ruin of their relationship.
The abandoned town had gone to ruin.
Don't let the house your grandfather built fall into ruin.
The castle is now a ruin.
The drought brought economic ruin to local farmers.
Her drug addiction brought her to the brink of ruin.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
The floods were also a disaster for businesses that lost valuable stock, like a local bookstore which saw $25,000 worth of books ruined, the BBC reported.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Archaeologists spent the past two years excavating the ruins of a 3,000-year-old mining camp at Sukari Mountain, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a Feb. 25 Facebook post.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruin
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Sometimes, one bad person or a few bad people can ruin things for everybody.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
The floods were also a disaster for businesses that lost valuable stock, like a local bookstore which saw $25,000 worth of books ruined, the BBC reported.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
Nowadays Lisbon is experiencing something of a Renaissance with more than four million visitors annually attracted by the city’s eclectic mix of Roman, Islamic and European cultures as well as its historic ruins, trams, fado music, pasteis de nata and famous azulejos tiles.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Archaeologists spent the past two years excavating the ruins of a 3,000-year-old mining camp at Sukari Mountain, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a Feb. 25 Facebook post.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruin
Cite this Entry
“Ruin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruin. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ruin
1 of 2 noun
ru·in
ˈrü-ən 
-ˌin
1
: complete collapse or destruction
2
: the remains of something destroyed
—usually used in plural
the ruins of a city
ruin
2 of 2 verb1
: to reduce to ruins
2
a
: to damage beyond repair
b
ruiner
noun
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