Collocations for "ruin"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "ruin" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2025
ruin
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.v
- ruined [the day, our trip, the party, our plans]
- ruined the [movie, book, ending]
- [don't, you'll] ruin the surprise
- it [completely, totally] ruined my day
- ruin a [dress, pair of pants]
- ruin a perfectly good [dress]
- ruined [dinner, the steaks]
- ruined an otherwise perfect [dinner]
- ruined them by [overcooking, forgetting to]
- ruin your [knee, shoulder]
- ruin your [reputation, credit, chances, future, image]
- ruin your [career, life, marriage, health]
- ruin the [country, business, economy]
- is ruining the [country]
- [terrorists, conflicts, poor decisions] are ruining the [country]
- [business, businessman, she] was (completely) ruined
- ruin the environment
- ruin yourself (financially, economically]
- you've (completely) ruined it (now)!
- have ruined everything
- ruined it for nothing
- (has) ruined me for any other [boy, restaurant]
- ruin and [destroy, abandon, lose, desert]
- ruined [forever, for life]
- [Roman, Greek, Byzantine] ruins
- the [castle, old town, pyramid] ruins
- [financial, professional, economic] ruin
- the [monument, book, castle, dress] was in ruins
- found [in, among] the ruins (of)
- the ruins [in, of] [Rome]
- the ruins of [an ancient, a great] civilization
- [tour, visit, inspect, explore, discover] the ruins
- the [city, society, house culture] fell into ruin
- the company [sank, ran, fell] into financial ruin
- (led him to) [financial] ruin
- [alcohol, smoking, gambling] was his ruin
- the ruin of [Troy, Oedipus]
- went to [rack, wrack] and ruin
'ruin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):