From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe ruins of somethingthe ruins of somethingDESTROYthe parts of something such as an organization, system, or set of ideas that remain after the rest have been destroyed the ruins of a government that once held so much promise → ruin
Examples from the Corpus
the ruins of something• Walking amongst the ruins of an ancient city, for example, it is impossible to gain an overall impression of the layout.• However, the ruins of the old city are clearly visible, stretching along the coast and over half a mile inland.• The party was held in the ruins of Persepolis, which was built by Darius and burned by Alexander the Great.• They created a stable and prosperous society on the ruins of the old totalitarian regime.• They had now reached the ruins of the temple.• In a thousand years, archaeologists will be digging through the ruins of what was once San Francisco.• Construction was halted when excavation work on the baroque square unearthed the ruins of a medieval synagogue destroyed in 1421.• Finally-and Stillman dwelled upon this at great length-whoever looked upon the ruins of the Tower was believed to forget everything he knew.• The countryside here is dotted with the ruins of churches the government has torn down or blown up in recent weeks. 