(~s, ~ing, ~ed, ~t)
Note: American English uses the form '~ed' as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either '~ed' or '~t'.
1.
If you ~ something, you prevent it from being successful or satisfactory.
It’s important not to let mistakes ~ your life...
Peaceful summer evenings can be ~t by mosquitoes.
VERB: V n, V n
2.
If you ~ children, you give them everything they want or ask for. This is considered to have a bad effect on a child’s character.
Grandparents are often tempted to ~ their grandchildren whenever they come to visit.
VERB: V n
~t, ~ed
A ~t child is rarely popular with other children...
Oh, that child. He’s so ~ed.
ADJ
3.
If you ~ yourself or ~ another person, you give yourself or them something nice as a treat or do something special for them.
Spoil yourself with a new perfume this summer...
Perhaps I could employ someone to iron his shirts, but I wanted to ~ him. He was my man.
= pamper
VERB: V pron-refl, V n
4.
If food ~s or if it is ~t, it is no longer fit to be eaten.
We all know that fats ~ by becoming rancid...
Some organisms are responsible for ~ing food and cause food poisoning...
VERB: V, V n
5.
If someone ~s their vote, they write something illegal on their voting paper, usually as a protest about the election, and their vote is not accepted. (BRIT)
They had broadcast calls for voters to ~ their ballot papers...
= deface
VERB: V n
6.
The ~s of something are things that people get as a result of winning a battle or of doing something successfully.
True to military tradition, the victors are now treating themselves to the ~s of war...
N-PLURAL: usu with supp
7.
If you say that someone is ~t for choice or ~ed for choice, you mean that they have a great many things of the same type to choose from.
At lunchtime, MPs are ~t for choice in 26 restaurants and bars.
PHRASE: v-link PHR