Destroying something or causing it to become damaged, broken, or no longer usable.
From Old French 'ruine,' derived from Latin 'ruina' meaning 'a collapse' or 'falling down.' The word originally referred to the physical collapse of buildings.
The word 'ruin' comes from the same Latin root as words describing falling down—which is why ruins of ancient buildings still show us how construction worked centuries ago!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.