ruin

I UK [ˈruːɪn] / US [ˈruɪn] verb [transitive]
Word forms "ruin":
present tense I/you/we/they ruin he/she/it ruins present participle ruining past tense ruined past participle ruined
**

1) to destroy or severely damage something

You'll completely ruin the flowers if you touch them.

Any kind of dishonest dealing will ruin his career.

She had ruined her mother's chances of getting a job.

2) to spoil something

They didn't want to be accused of ruining everyone's fun.

3) to make someone lose all their money or power

It was a scandal that totally ruined the company.

II UK [ˈruːɪn] / US [ˈruɪn] noun
Word forms "ruin":
singular ruin plural ruins
*

1) [countable/uncountable] the state of something that has been destroyed or severely damaged

in ruins:

Last month saw his dreams shattered and his business in ruins.

fall into ruin (= gradually break into pieces):

After the war many monasteries fell into ruin.

2)

a) [countable, often plural] the parts of a building that remain after it has been severely damaged

Roman ruins

People had built shelters among the ruins of the city.

The attack had reduced the town to a smoking ruin.

b) the parts of anything that are left after the rest of it has been destroyed

She sat contemplating the ruins of her shattered life.

3) [uncountable] the loss of all your money or power

Despite good sales, many of these stores are facing ruin.

financial/economic ruin:

Reducing quotas could bring economic ruin to a small fishing village like this.