drill

¹

[dril]

noun

1. Machinery, Building Trades.

   1. a shaftlike tool with two or more cutting edges for making holes in firm materials, especially by rotation.

   2. a tool, especially a hand tool, for holding and operating such a tool.

2. Military.

   1. training in formal marching or other precise military or naval movements.

   2. an exercise in such training.

      gun drill.

3. any strict, methodical, repetitive, or mechanical training, instruction, or exercise.

   a spelling drill.

4. the correct or customary manner of proceeding.

5. Also called snail bore. a gastropod, Urosalpinx cinera, that bores holes in shellfish, as oysters.

verb (used with object)

1. to pierce or bore a hole in (something).

2. to make (a hole) by boring.

3. Military.,  to instruct and exercise (military trainees) in formation marching and movement, in the carrying of arms during formal marching, and in the formal handling of arms for ceremonies and guard duty.

4. to impart (knowledge) by strict training, discipline, or repetition.

5. to train or rehearse (a person or group) in a subject, discipline, etc., by guided repetition, quizzing, and other techniques.

verb (used without object)

1. to pierce or bore something with or as with a drill.

2. to penetrate deeply beneath the ground or the seafloor with specialized machinery to search for deposits or reservoirs of a natural substance.

   to drill for oil.

3. to go through exercise in military or other training.

verb phrase

1. drill down

   1. Computers.,  to move through a hierarchical system in order to view data at a lower level, as to find a specific file or database record.

   2. to access and examine something more thoroughly or in more detail.

      Now that you have the big picture, let’s drill down to some technical facts and statistics.

drill

²

[dril]

noun

1. a small furrow made in the soil in which to sow seeds.

2. a row of seeds or plants thus sown.

3. a machine for sowing in rows and for covering the seeds when sown.

verb (used with object)

1. to sow (seed) in drills.

2. to sow or plant (soil, a plot of ground, etc.) in drills.

verb (used without object)

1. to sow seed in drills.

drill

³

[dril]

noun

1. a strong, twilled cotton fabric.

drill

⁴

[dril]

noun

1. a large, baboonlike monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of western Africa, similar to the related mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored: now endangered.

drill

¹

/ drɪl /

noun

1. a rotating tool that is inserted into a drilling machine or tool for boring cylindrical holes

2. a hand tool, either manually or electrically operated, for drilling holes

3. military

   1. training in procedures or movements, as for ceremonial parades or the use of weapons

   2. ( as modifier )

      drill hall

4. strict and often repetitious training or exercises used as a method of teaching

5. informal,  correct procedure or routine

6. a marine gastropod mollusc, Urosalpinx cinera, closely related to the whelk, that preys on oysters

verb

1. to pierce, bore, or cut (a hole) in (material) with or as if with a drill

   to drill a hole

   to drill metal

2. to instruct or be instructed in military procedures or movements

3. (tr) to teach by rigorous exercises or training

4. informal,  (tr) to hit (a ball) in a straight line at great speed

5. informal,  (tr) to riddle with bullets

drill

²

/ drɪl /

noun

1. a machine for planting seeds in rows or depositing fertilizer

2. a small furrow in which seeds are sown

3. a row of seeds planted using a drill

verb

1. to plant (seeds) by means of a drill

drill

³

/ drɪl /

noun

1. a hard-wearing twill-weave cotton cloth, used for uniforms, etc

drill

⁴

/ drɪl /

noun

1. an Old World monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of W Africa, related to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly coloured

Other Word Forms

• driller noun
• drillable adjective
• drillability noun
• undrillable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drill¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Dutch dril (noun), drillen (verb)

Origin of drill²

First recorded in 1720–30; compare drill “rill,” German Rille “furrow,” rillen “to groove”

Origin of drill³

First recorded in 1735–45; short for drilling ²

Origin of drill⁴

First recorded in 1635–45; of obscure origin; mandrill

Word History and Origins

Origin of drill¹

C17: from Middle Dutch drillen; related to Old High German drāen to turn

Origin of drill²

C18: of uncertain origin; compare German Rille furrow

Origin of drill³

C18: variant of German Drillich, from Latin trilīx, from _tri- + līcium thread

Origin of drill⁴

C17: from a West African word; compare _mandrill

Synonym Study

See exercise.

Example Sentences

Effective public health messaging – which has drilled "Slip, Slop, Slap" into their heads – competes with a beauty culture which often idolises bronzed skin.

From BBC

Schaeffer, who has the mien of Marine drill instructor, is animated and intense.

From Los Angeles Times

Dermish launched businesses to support the industry, offering everything from guards for drill sites to housing for oil field workers.

From Salon

The wave of drying has prompted many people across the world’s food-growing regions to drill more wells and rely more heavily on pumping groundwater.

From Los Angeles Times

Mobility drills between his most strenuous exercises, which increased his core stability and the range of motion in his hips.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assignment 
• conditioning 
• discipline 
• drilling 
• homework 
• preparation 
• repetition 
• training 
• tryout 
• warmup 
• workout 

When To Use

What else does drill mean?

In music and pop culture, drill is a style of hip-hop known for grim, violent lyrics and gritty, intense beats. Drawing on Southern rap, drill originated in Chicago in the 2010s and influenced, among others, a UK style of hip-hop known as UK drill.What are some other words related to drill?

• grime



• mumble rap



• trap music