How to Use (be) spoiling for in a Sentence
(be) spoiling for
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Fans, spoiling for a fight, shared his video in the millions.
—Saritha Rai, Bloomberg.com, 14 June 2020
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And some of the cast members are spoiling for that to happen.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 12 May 2023
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Much of the American right is spoiling for a fight, in the most literal sense.
—Fintan O’Toole, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2021
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Outside, Jason says, their neighbor’s buddy was banging on their windows, pissed about the egging and spoiling for a fight.
—Katherine Laidlaw, Wired, 9 Sep. 2021
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The music has stopped, and the former partners are spoiling for a years-long fight that will make US v. Microsoft pale in comparison.
—Nicolás Rivero, Quartz, 21 Dec. 2020
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However, that’s probably not the fight Our Power is spoiling for.
—Greg Jefferson, ExpressNews.com, 4 Sep. 2020
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Elsewhere in the capital, responding to his call, Thousands of his followers were spoiling for a brawl.
—John Lithgow, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2021
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After her shift, election supervisor Rebekah Doughty said her lip hurt from biting it so hard, as almost half the voters who came in were spoiling for a fight.
—Diana Marcum, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2021
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Without your being able to recognize it, someone might be spoiling for a fight or feeling defensive.
—The Astrotwins, ELLE, 13 Nov. 2022
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And some Republicans appeared to be spoiling for a fight with the generally unflappable Blinken.
—Compiled Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 14 Sep. 2021
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California governor Gavin Newsom has been spoiling for a fight on the national stage.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Aug. 2023
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But every year, a large portion of his contemporary issues class was white, conservative and spoiling for a chance to debate a real live liberal.
—Hannah Natanson, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Dec. 2021
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Years removed from regular stints in the operating room, Adams finds himself in an administration that often comes off as an empire of mean, defined by a White House spoiling for a fight.
—Washington Post, 12 July 2020
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Key constituencies within the Democratic Party’s universe, however, are spoiling for a fight and bringing pressure for change.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 16 Mar. 2021
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Wary of being tethered to his great novels of the nineteen-seventies, Reed is spoiling for a comeback, and a younger generation receptive to his guerrilla media criticism may be along for the ride.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 19 July 2021
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The other was deadly serious, and some who ventured there ended up spoiling for civil war, committing violent crimes, and brandishing knives, guns, and bullwhips against their phantoms.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 22 Sep. 2020
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That missing context gives the impression Jorgensen was spoiling for a fight with those establishment Republicans who had endorsed his opponent in the leadership race.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 May 2021
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But Godard leaves behind a singular cinematic past, ever spoiling for debate and argument with a new audience.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 13 Sep. 2022
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word '(be) spoiling for.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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