What does "sill" mean?
A breast wall; window breast; horizontal brink which forms the base of a window.
Sill
/sɪl/ adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A breast wall; window breast; horizontal brink which forms the base of a window.
- Grammar: sill is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: base, basement, basis, beam.
- Useful contrasts: dike.
- Usage evidence: Some birds alighted on the window sill.
How to use "sill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sill" 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 "sill" 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 "sill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sill" 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 "sill" is acting as adj, name, noun, 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 "base" 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 "sill", 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 breast wall; window breast; horizontal brink which forms the base of a window.
"She looked out the window resting her elbows on the window sill."
- 2 A young herring. UK
- 3 The shaft or thill of a carriage.
- 4 structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure wordnet
- 5 A threshold; horizontal structural member of a building near ground level on a foundation or pilings, or lying on the ground, and bearing the upright portion of a frame; a sill plate.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 (geology) a flat (usually horizontal) mass of igneous rock between two layers of older sedimentary rock wordnet
- 7 A stratum of rock, especially an intrusive layer of igneous rock lying parallel to surrounding strata.
"Minor palingenetic magmas probably were generated at this time and intruded the mantling rocks in the form of small sills and apophyses […]."
- 8 A threshold or brink across the bottom of a canal lock for the gates to shut against.
- 9 A raised area at the base of the nasal aperture in the skull.
"the nasal sill"
- 10 The inner edge of the bottom of an embrasure. historical
Adjective
- 1 Silly. rare, slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"Some birds alighted on the window sill."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sill"?
Common synonyms include: base, basement, basis, beam, bearing wall, bed.
How do you use "sill" in a sentence?
Some birds alighted on the window sill.
How do you pronounce "sill"?
Pronounced /sɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sille, selle, sülle, from Old English syll, syl (“sill, threshold, foundation, base, basis”), from Proto-Germanic *sulī (“bar, sill”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”). Cognate with Scots sil, sill (“balk, beam, floor, sill”), Dutch zulle (“sill”), Low German Sull, Sülle (“threshold, ramp, sill”), German Süll, Sülle (“threshold, sill”), Danish syld (“base of a framework building”), Swedish syll (“joist, cross-tie”), Norwegian syll, Icelandic syll, sylla (“sill”). Related also to German Schwelle ( > Danish svelle), Old Norse svill, Latin silva (“wood, forest”), Ancient Greek ὕλη (húlē).
Etymology 2
Compare sile.
Etymology 3
Compare thill.
Etymology 4
Short for silly.
Etymology 5
English surname, variant of Silvester (from Sylvester) and Silvano.