What does "drill" mean?
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.
Drill
/dɹɪl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: drill is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: exercise, practice, academic exercise, accustom.
- Useful contrasts: educational project, bradawl, broadcast sow.
- Usage evidence: They intended to drill for oil.
How to use "drill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drill" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "drill" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "drill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drill" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "drill" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "exercise" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "drill", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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"
Verb
- 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.’"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"They intended to drill for oil."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "drill"?
Common synonyms include: exercise, practice, academic exercise, accustom, aculeus, acumination.
How do you use "drill" in a sentence?
They intended to drill for oil.
How do you pronounce "drill"?
Pronounced /dɹɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).
Etymology 2
Perhaps the same as Etymology 3; compare German Rille which can also mean "small furrow".
Etymology 3
Uncertain. Compare the same sense of trill, and German trillen, drillen. Attestation predates Etymology 1.
Etymology 4
From Middle English drillen (“to delay, defer, put off”), of origin unknown.
Etymology 5
] Source unknown. Probably of African origin; compare mandrill.
Etymology 6
From German Drillich (“denim, canvas, drill”).