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ruin noun
/ˈruː.ɪn/ n Definition
•
[U] when something is spoilt or destroyedThe car accident meant the ruin of all her hopes.
They let the palace fall into ruin.
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[U] when a person or company loses all their money or their reputationMany companies are on the edge/brink/verge of ruin.
Alcohol was my ruin (= the thing that spoiled my life)
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[C] the broken parts that are left from an old building or townWe visited a Roman ruin.
the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage
be/lie in ruins
•
(of a building or city) to be extremely badly damaged so that most of it has fallen downThe town lay in ruins after years of bombing.
•
to be in an extremely bad stateThe economy was in ruins after the war.
(Definition of ruin noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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