spoilage
/'spɔilidʤ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The act of causing something to become unfit for use or consumption: "Spoilage" refers to the action of damaging or ruining something, often making it unusable.
- The process of decaying or becoming rotten: "Spoilage" describes the natural process by which something, especially food, deteriorates and becomes spoiled.
- The amount of something that has spoiled: "Spoilage" can also quantify the portion of a material, typically food, that has become unfit for use.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The spoilage of the fruit was caused by improper storage. (The process of the fruit becoming rotten was due to bad storage.)
- We must reduce spoilage in our warehouse to cut costs. (We need to decrease the amount of goods that become ruined.)
- Deliberate spoilage of property is a crime. (The intentional act of damaging property is illegal.)
Advanced Usage
- Economic/Business Context: "Spoilage" is a key term in inventory and supply chain management, referring to waste due to products expiring or being damaged.
- The company's profits were affected by high rates of product spoilage.
- Food Science Context: Used to describe microbial or enzymatic action that makes food unsafe or unpalatable.
- Refrigeration slows down the spoilage of dairy products.
Variants and Related Words
- Spoil (verb): To become or cause something to become unfit for use; to decay.
- Milk will spoil if left out of the refrigerator.
- Spoiled (adjective): Having undergone spoilage; ruined. Also used figuratively for a person (e.g., a spoiled child).
- We had to throw away the spoiled meat.
Synonyms
- Decay: The process of rotting or decomposition.
- Deterioration: The process of becoming progressively worse.
- Decomposition: The state or process of rotting; decay.
- Waste: Unwanted or unusable material; also used for the act of using something carelessly.
Antonyms
- Preservation: The action of maintaining something in its original or existing state.
- Freshness: The state of being recently made or obtained; not spoiled.
Related Phrases
- Spoilage rate: The percentage or amount of goods that spoil within a given period.
- Monitoring the spoilage rate helps improve inventory practices.
- Normal spoilage: An accounting term for the expected, unavoidable waste in a production process.
- The cost of normal spoilage is included in the product's cost.
Noun
- the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it
- her spoiling my dress was deliberate
- the process of becoming spoiled
- the amount that has spoiled