I. ru ‧ in 1 S3 /ˈruːən, ˈruːɪn/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
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.
2 . to make someone lose all their money:
Jefferson was ruined by the lawsuit.
⇨ ↑ ruined
II. ruin 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ruine , from Latin ruina ]
1 . [uncountable] 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 . [countable] ( 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 something 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 falls into 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 somebody 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 ↑ rack 1 (4)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ financial ruin (=when someone loses all or most of their money)
She faces financial ruin after losing the court case.
▪ economic ruin (=when someone loses all their money or when a country loses a lot of its trade, industry, and wealth)
Their policies have been driving this country to economic ruin for the past 13 years.
▪ political ruin
The scandal left the government on the brink of political ruin.
▪ social ruin (=when someone loses their position or rank in society)
In those days, breaking off your engagement could mean social ruin.
■ verbs
▪ face ruin
Many shopkeepers are facing ruin.
▪ mean ruin (=cause ruin for somebody)
They fear that the proposals could mean ruin for small football clubs.
▪ spell ruin (=cause ruin for somebody)
Unwise investment can spell financial ruin.
▪ lead to ruin
This policy could lead to utter ruin.
▪ save somebody from ruin
He believes the invention saved him from financial ruin.
■ phrases
▪ bring ruin on/to somebody (=cause ruin for somebody)
Her behaviour brought ruin on her family.
▪ drive somebody to ruin (=cause ruin for somebody)
Farmers told how foot-and-mouth disease was driving them to ruin.
▪ be on the brink/verge of ruin (=be close to ruin)
The recession could leave many businesses on the brink of ruin.
▪ be on the road to ruin (=be certain to happen at some time in the future)
Is America on the road to ruin?