What does "spill" mean?
A mess of something that has been dropped.
Spill
/spɪl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A mess of something that has been dropped.
- Grammar: spill is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: spillage, accident, accident, acknowledge.
- Useful contrasts: blotting, conceal, contain.
- Usage evidence: Spill what happened after the party.
How to use "spill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spill" 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 "spill" 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 "spill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spill" 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 "spill" 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 "spillage" 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 "spill", 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 mess of something that has been dropped. countable
- 2 a sudden drop from an upright position wordnet
- 3 A fall or stumble.
"The bruise is from a bad spill he had last week."
- 4 the act of allowing a fluid to escape wordnet
- 5 A small stick or piece of paper used to light a candle, cigarette etc by the transfer of a flame from a fire.
"“In a moment, he has torn the letter into long thin strips, and rolling them up into spills he thrusts them hurriedly in amongst the other spills in the vase on the mantle-piece.”"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or other obstruction wordnet
- 7 A slender piece of anything.; A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask'; a spile.
- 8 liquid that is spilled wordnet
- 9 A slender piece of anything.; A metallic rod or pin.
- 10 A slender piece of anything.; A spillikin.
"A tool with which to extract the spills from the pile."
- 11 A slender piece of anything.; A splinter caught in the skin. Shropshire
- 12 One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.
- 13 The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.
- 14 A small sum of money. obsolete
"Spill or Sportule for the same from the credulous Laity"
- 15 A declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant, and open for re-election. Short form of leadership spill. Australian
Verb
- 1 To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour. transitive
"I spilled some sticky juice on the kitchen floor."
- 2 reduce the pressure of wind on (a sail) wordnet
- 3 To spread out or fall out, as above. intransitive
"Some sticky juice spilled onto the kitchen floor."
- 4 reveal information wordnet
- 5 To overflow out of a designated area. intransitive
"The crowd spilled onto Maple Avenue."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over wordnet
- 7 To drop something that was intended to be caught. transitive
"That should have been that, but Hart caught a dose of the Hennessey wobbles and spilled Adlene Guedioura's long-range shot."
- 8 pour out in drops or small quantities or as if in drops or small quantities wordnet
- 9 To mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste.
"They [the colours] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship."
- 10 cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container wordnet
- 11 To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste. intransitive, obsolete
"That thou wilt suffer innocence to spill."
- 12 flow, run or fall out and become lost wordnet
- 13 To overflow or flow out, over or off something. also, figuratively, intransitive
"Liverpool Street's 1985-92 remodelling by the British Rail Architects' Department (under project lead Nick Derbyshire) had carefully followed original 1870s detailing, with the concourse designed to allow natural light to spill into the station."
- 14 To cause or flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed. transitive
"to revenge his Blood, ſo juſtly ſpilt, / VVhat is it leſs then to partake his guilt?"
- 15 To cause to be thrown from a mount, a carriage, etc. obsolete, slang, transitive
"Then, not thirty feet beyond, a sudden panicky lunge to the side by his horse spilled him from the saddle."
- 16 To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay.
"And all the others pavement were with yvory spilt"
- 17 To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain.
- 18 To open the leadership of a parliamentary party for re-election. Australian, transitive
- 19 To reveal information to an uninformed party. ambitransitive
"He spilled his guts out to his new psychologist."
- 20 To come undone.
- 21 To express (something), especially repeatedly or floridly; to be expressed. transitive
"He spilled insults about the other team."
Slang
- 1 To reveal gossip or information. slang, internet, 2010s-2020s
"Spill what happened after the party."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Spill what happened after the party."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spill"?
Common synonyms include: spillage, accident, accident, acknowledge, adhesive tape, admit.
How do you use "spill" in a sentence?
Spill what happened after the party.
How do you pronounce "spill"?
Pronounced /spɪl/.
Etymology
From Middle English spillen, from Old English spillan, spildan (“to kill, destroy, waste”), from Proto-West Germanic *spilþijan, from Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to spoil, kill, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to sunder, split, rend, tear”). Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic spilla (“to contaminate, spoil”). See also spool.