spoilt
Spoiled: food gone bad, or a kid (or dog) spoiled rotten.
Also called spoiled, spoilt rotten.
Updated September 24, 2026
spoilt pronunciation
/SPOILT/
Meaning
Spoilt is the older past form of spoil that stuck around in Southern and Appalachian talk. Milk can be spoilt. Meat can be spoilt. And a young'un who never heard "no" can be spoilt too, often "spoilt rotten." Same word, two common jobs: the fridge went bad, or somebody got handed too much.
How folks use it
- “Don't drink that milk; it's spoilt.”
- “Y'all done spoilt that boy till he won't lift a finger.”
Origin and etymology
Older English used spoilt as a past participle of spoil. Standard American writing mostly switched to spoiled, but rural Southern and Appalachian speech kept spoilt in everyday talk. DARE and dialect notes still find it for both spoiled food and overindulged kids.
Frequently asked questions
Is spoilt wrong English?
No. It is an older form that country Southern speech held onto. Spell-check may dislike it; the porch does not.