ruin

Ruin is the fallen or destroyed remains of something.

(noun)

An example of a ruin is what remains of the Colosseum in Rome.

Ruin is defined as to break or destroy something.

(verb)

An example of to ruin is breaking a water glass.

See ruin in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

Archaic a falling down, as of a building, wall, etc.
the remains of a fallen building, city, etc., or of something devastated, decayed, etc.
1. a destroyed or dilapidated building, town, etc.
2. a person regarded as being physically, mentally, or morally a wreck of what he or she was
the state of being destroyed, decayed, dilapidated, etc.
downfall, destruction, devastation, etc.; specif.,
1. complete loss of means, solvency, position, etc.
2. moral downfall
3. loss of chastity in a woman
any cause of a person's downfall, destruction, etc.: gambling was his ruin

Origin: ME ruine < OFr < L ruina < ruere, to fall, hurl to the ground < IE *ereu- < base *er-, to set in motion, erect > run, rise

transitive verb

to bring or reduce to ruin; specif.,

intransitive verb

to go or come to ruin

Related Forms:

See ruin in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Total destruction or disintegration, either physical, moral, social, or economic.
A cause of total destruction.
a. The act of destroying totally.
b. A destroyed person, object, or building.
The remains of something destroyed, disintegrated, or decayed. Often used in the plural: studied the ruins of ancient Greece.

verb ru·ined, ru·in·ing, ru·ins

verb, transitive