The difference between Defile and Spoil

When used as nouns, defile means a narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains, whereas spoil means (also in plural: spoils) plunder taken from an enemy or victim.

When used as verbs, defile means to make unclean, dirty, or impure, whereas spoil means to strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour.

check bellow for the other definitions of Defile and Spoil

  1. Defile as a verb (transitive):

    To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.

  2. Defile as a verb (transitive):

    To vandalize or add inappropriate contents to something considered sacred or special; desecrate

    Examples:

    "To urinate on someone's grave is an example of a way to defile it."

  3. Defile as a verb (transitive):

    To deprive or ruin someone's (sexual) purity or chastity, often not consensually; stain; tarnish; mar; rape

    Examples:

    "The serial rapist kidnapped and defiled a six-year-old girl."

  1. Defile as a noun:

    A narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains

  2. Defile as a noun:

    A single file, such as of soldiers.

  3. Defile as a noun:

    The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior.

  1. Defile as a verb (archaic, intransitive):

    To march in a single file.

  1. Spoil as a verb (transitive, archaic):

    To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour.

  2. Spoil as a verb (transitive, archaic):

    To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil.

  3. Spoil as a verb (ambitransitive, archaic):

    To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).

  4. Spoil as a verb (transitive, obsolete):

    To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.

  5. Spoil as a verb (transitive):

    To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use.

  6. Spoil as a verb (transitive):

    To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.

  7. Spoil as a verb (intransitive):

    Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.

    Examples:

    "Make sure you put the milk back in the fridge, otherwise it will spoil."

  8. Spoil as a verb (transitive):

    To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it.

  9. Spoil as a verb (transitive):

    To reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.

  1. Spoil as a noun:

    (Also in plural: spoils) Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.

  2. Spoil as a noun (uncountable):

    Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging. Tailings.

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