ruins

Noun

ruin (countable and uncountable, plural ruins)

1. (countable, in plural, sometimes) The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
   • The Veian and the Gabian towirs shall fall, / And one promiscuous ruin cover all; / Nor, after length of years, a stone betray / The place where once the very ruins lay.1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
2. (uncountable) The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.
   • The monastery has fallen into ruin.
3. (uncountable) Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.
   • Gambling has been the ruin of many.
4. The act of ruining something.

   Synonyms:

   wreckage

5. (obsolete) A fall or tumble.
   • His ruin startled th’ other steeds.[1611?], Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; republished as The Iliads of Homer...
6. A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.
   • the ruin of a ship or an army

See all 16 meanings of ruin