drill
1Machinery, Building Trades.
a shaftlike tool with two or more cutting edges for making holes in firm materials, especially by rotation.
a tool, especially a hand tool, for holding and operating such a tool.
Military.
training in formal marching or other precise military or naval movements.
an exercise in such training: gun drill.
any strict, methodical, repetitive, or mechanical training, instruction, or exercise: a spelling drill.
the correct or customary manner of proceeding.
Also called snail bore [sneyl-bawr] /ˈsneɪl ˌbɔr/ . a gastropod, Urosalpinx cinera, that bores holes in shellfish, as oysters.
to pierce or bore a hole in (something).
to make (a hole) by boring.
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.
to impart (knowledge) by strict training, discipline, or repetition.
to train or rehearse (a person or group) in a subject, discipline, etc., by guided repetition, quizzing, and other techniques.
to pierce or bore something with or as with a drill.
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.
to go through exercise in military or other training.
drill down,
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.
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.
Origin of drill
1synonym study For drill
Other words from drill
- drill·a·ble, adjective
- drill·a·bil·i·ty [dril-uh-bil-i-tee], /ˌdrɪl əˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
- drill·er, noun
- un·drill·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for drill (2 of 4)
a small furrow made in the soil in which to sow seeds.
a row of seeds or plants thus sown.
a machine for sowing in rows and for covering the seeds when sown.
to sow (seed) in drills.
to sow or plant (soil, a plot of ground, etc.) in drills.
to sow seed in drills.
Origin of drill
2Other words from drill
- driller, noun
Other definitions for drill (3 of 4)
a strong, twilled cotton fabric.
Origin of drill
3Other definitions for drill (4 of 4)
a large, baboonlike monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of western Africa, similar to the related mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored: now endangered.
Origin of drill
4Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use drill in a sentence
And it goes beyond getting my teeth drilled at the dentist office—my dentist really likes classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music | Kevin Fallon | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFour, the recruitment by the Republicans of affable-seeming candidates who had some discipline drilled into them.
Not only did it look like and have the texture of crude oil, it tasted like it had been recently drilled.
Surgeons drilled a small hole in his skull and removed the blood clot.
Doctors Say Motörhead Is So Hardcore, They Could Make Your Brain Bleed | Brandy Zadrozny | July 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEach 6000kg sculpture is lowered to the seabed where it is drilled into the substrate to lessen the effects of turbulent weather.
Artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s Underwater Sculptures Are a Sight to Sea | Justin Jones | April 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The old lap-welded barrel gave way to the barrel drilled from solid steel.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | VariousWith medium or moderately hard steel all rivet holes should be drilled, or punched ⅛ in.
Moves drilled in him by long hours of weary practice came almost automatically to the pilot.
Star Born | Andre NortonThe two halves are then glued together, and a hole is drilled centrally on the division line for a string to pass through.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | VariousThe lug A is to give additional strength and thickness to the side so that it may be drilled and tapped for the nozzle.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
British Dictionary definitions for drill (1 of 4)
/ (drɪl) /
a rotating tool that is inserted into a drilling machine or tool for boring cylindrical holes
a hand tool, either manually or electrically operated, for drilling holes
military
training in procedures or movements, as for ceremonial parades or the use of weapons
(as modifier): drill hall
strict and often repetitious training or exercises used as a method of teaching
informal correct procedure or routine
a marine gastropod mollusc, Urosalpinx cinera, closely related to the whelk, that preys on oysters
to pierce, bore, or cut (a hole) in (material) with or as if with a drill: to drill a hole; to drill metal
to instruct or be instructed in military procedures or movements
(tr) to teach by rigorous exercises or training
(tr) informal to hit (a ball) in a straight line at great speed
(tr) informal to riddle with bullets
Origin of drill
1- See also drill down
Derived forms of drill
- drillable, adjective
- driller, noun
British Dictionary definitions for drill (2 of 4)
/ (drɪl) /
a machine for planting seeds in rows or depositing fertilizer
a small furrow in which seeds are sown
a row of seeds planted using a drill
to plant (seeds) by means of a drill
Origin of drill
2Derived forms of drill
- driller, noun
British Dictionary definitions for drill (3 of 4)
drilling
/ (drɪl) /
a hard-wearing twill-weave cotton cloth, used for uniforms, etc
Origin of drill
3British Dictionary definitions for drill (4 of 4)
/ (drɪl) /
an Old World monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of W Africa, related to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly coloured
Origin of drill
4Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse