Word.ws English Dictionary

spoilsman

spoilsman noun: a politician who serves only for a share of the spoils.

Noun

spoilsman (plural spoilsmen)

  1. (US) A politician who serves only for a share of the spoils.
    • Cameron's notoriety as a spoilsman who had been in turn a Democrat, a Know-Nothing, and had flirted with Whiggery, militated against his candidacy among delegates concerned that the party should appear to be as pure as Caesar's wife.1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry for Freedom, Oxford, published 2003, page 217

Forms of spoilsman

pluralspoilsmen

Origin of spoilsman

From spoils + man.

Questions about spoilsman

What does spoilsman mean?
Spoilsman means a politician who serves only for a share of the spoils.
What part of speech is spoilsman?
Spoilsman is a noun.
What is the plural of spoilsman?
The plural of spoilsman is spoilsmen.

Words near spoilsman in the dictionary

  1. spoils someone rotten
  2. spoils system
  3. spoils systems
  4. spoils the market
  5. spoils the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar
  6. spoilsman
  7. spoilsmen
  8. spoilsmonger
  9. spoilsmongers
  10. spoilsome
  11. spoilsport

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spoilsman (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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