Refine this word faster
Drill
Definitions
- 1 A tool or machine used to remove material so as to create a hole, typically by plunging a rotating cutting bit into a stationary workpiece.
"Wear safety glasses when operating an electric drill."
- 2 An agricultural implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
"I found down at the side of the house the remains of what must have once been a kitchen garden. Everything was choked with weeds and scutch grass, but the outlines of bed and drill were still there."
- 3 A small trickling stream; a rill. obsolete
"Springs through the pleasant meadows pour their drills."
- 4 An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.
- 5 A strong, durable cotton fabric with a strong bias (diagonal) in the weave. countable, uncountable
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 (military) the training of soldiers to march (as in ceremonial parades) or to perform the manual of arms wordnet
- 7 The portion of a drilling tool that drives the bit.
"Use a drill with a wire brush to remove any rust or buildup."
- 8 A light furrow or channel made to put seed into, when sowing.
- 9 systematic training by multiple repetitions wordnet
- 10 An activity done as an exercise or practice (especially a military exercise), particularly in preparation for some possible future event or occurrence.
"Regular fire drills can ensure that everyone knows how to exit safely in an emergency."
- 11 A row of seed sown in a furrow.
- 12 similar to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored wordnet
- 13 A short and highly repeatable sports training exercise designed to hone a particular skill that may be useful in competition.
"At today's practice, the football team performed a variety of goalkeeping drills."
- 14 a tool with a sharp point and cutting edges for making holes in hard materials (usually rotating rapidly or by repeated blows) wordnet
- 15 Any of several molluscs, of the genus Urosalpinx and others, especially the oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea), that make holes in the shells of their prey.
- 16 A style of trap music with gritty, violent lyrics, originating on the South Side of Chicago. uncountable
"Though the young women of Chicago’s drill scene can be as rowdy as their male counterparts, they’re also more diverse in subject matter and point to a possible way forward."
- 17 A single performance of drill music. countable
"These bells are alarmin’ Point blank and you missed your target They go shooting range and their drills are garbage"
- 1 To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool). transitive
"Drill a small hole to start the screw in the right direction."
- 2 To sow (seeds) by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row. transitive
- 3 To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling. transitive
"waters drilled through a sandy stratum"
- 4 To protract, lengthen out; fritter away, spend (time) aimlessly. dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"Quit purposely drilling out the time hoping that someone else will do your chores."
- 5 train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 To practice, especially in (or as in) a military context. intransitive
"They drilled daily to learn the routine exactly."
- 7 To entice or allure; to decoy; with on. dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"He tells me with great passion that she has bubbled him out of his youth; that she drilled him on to five and fifty [years old], and that he verily believes she will drop him in his old age, if she can find her account in another."
- 8 undergo military training or do military exercises wordnet
- 9 To cause to drill (practice); to train in military arts. ergative
"The sergeant was up by 6:00 every morning, drilling his troops."
- 10 To cause to slip or waste away by degrees. dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"August 28, 1731, letter by Jonathan Swift to John Gay and Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry This cursed accident hath drilled away the whole summer."
- 11 learn by repetition wordnet
- 12 To repeat an idea frequently in order to encourage someone to remember it. transitive
"The instructor drilled into us the importance of reading the instructions."
- 13 teach by repetition wordnet
- 14 To investigate or examine something in more detail or at a different level figuratively, intransitive
"Drill deeper and you may find the underlying assumptions faulty."
- 15 make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool wordnet
- 16 To throw, run, hit or kick with a lot of power. transitive
"He drilled down the court and made a three-pointer."
- 17 To hit someone with a pitch, especially in an intentional context.
- 18 To have sexual intercourse with; to penetrate. slang, vulgar
"Everytime^([sic]) when I rape your daughter. Your beautiful faces expressing how it hurts. Always while I drill her c*nt. I want to see you dead."
- 19 To shoot; to kill by shooting. slang
"‘Matthew Garth woulda let Tom Dunstan drill him insteada drawin’ against him.’"
Etymology
From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).
From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).
Perhaps the same as Etymology 3; compare German Rille which can also mean "small furrow".
Perhaps the same as Etymology 3; compare German Rille which can also mean "small furrow".
Uncertain. Compare the same sense of trill, and German trillen, drillen. Attestation predates Etymology 1.
Uncertain. Compare the same sense of trill, and German trillen, drillen. Attestation predates Etymology 1.
From Middle English drillen (“to delay, defer, put off”), of origin unknown.
] Source unknown. Probably of African origin; compare mandrill.
From German Drillich (“denim, canvas, drill”).
See also for "drill"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: drill