■ noun
1》 physical destruction or collapse.
2》 the remains of a building that has suffered much damage.
3》 a dramatic decline; a downfall.
■ verb
1》 damage irreparably; reduce to a state of ~.
↘reduce to poverty or bankruptcy.
2》 literary fall headlong.
Phrases
in ~s in a state of complete collapse.
Origin
ME: from OFr. ~e , from L. ~a , from ruere 'to fall'.