spoil the ending

Meaning

To ruin the suspense, surprise, or enjoyment of a movie, book, or show by prematurely revealing what happens at the very end to someone who hasn't finished it yet.

Examples

• Please don't spoil the ending; I haven't watched the final episode yet!

  Please don't spoil the ending; I haven't watched the final episode yet!

• He accidentally spoiled the ending of the book during our lunch break.

  He accidentally spoiled the ending of the book during our lunch break.

• Social media is full of people trying to spoil the ending of the new movie.

  Social media is full of people trying to spoil the ending of the new movie.

• I knew she would spoil the ending, so I covered my ears.

  I knew she would spoil the ending, so I covered my ears.

• A good review should give you an idea of the plot without spoiling the ending.

  A good review should give you an idea of the plot without spoiling the ending.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Don't damage the end of the movie for me.

  ✓ Don't spoil the ending of the movie for me.

  While 'damage' and 'spoil' can both mean to ruin something physical, only 'spoil' is used for ruining plot points, surprises, or storylines.

• ✗ He made a spoiler of the ending.

  ✓ He spoiled the ending.

  'Spoiler' is a noun. When expressing the action of ruining the plot, use the verb 'spoil' directly with 'the ending'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you've already seen the movie, please don't ___ for everyone else.

  💡 ruin the final surprise

  Show answer

  spoil the ending

• She stopped reading the review because she didn't want it to ___.

  💡 reveal how the story finishes

  Show answer

  spoil the ending