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View synonyms for drill
drill
1[ dril ]
noun
- Machinery, 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]. a gastropod, Urosalpinx cinera, that bores holes in shellfish, as oysters.
verb (used with object)
- 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.
verb (used without object)
- 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.
verb phrase
- 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.
drill
2[ dril ]
noun
- 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.
verb (used with object)
- to sow (seed) in drills.
- to sow or plant (soil, a plot of ground, etc.) in drills.
verb (used without object)
- to sow seed in drills.
drill
3[ dril ]
noun
- a strong, twilled cotton fabric.
drill
4[ dril ]
noun
- a large, baboonlike monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of western Africa, similar to the related mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored: now endangered.
drill
1/ drɪl /
noun
- 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
verb
- 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
- informal.tr to hit (a ball) in a straight line at great speed
- informal.tr to riddle with bullets
drill
2/ drɪl /
noun
- 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
verb
- to plant (seeds) by means of a drill
drill
3/ drɪl /
noun
- a hard-wearing twill-weave cotton cloth, used for uniforms, etc
drill
4/ drɪl /
noun
- an Old World monkey, Mandrillus leucophaeus, of W Africa, related to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly coloured
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Derived Forms
- ˈdriller, noun
- ˈdrillable, adjective
- ˈdriller, noun
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Other Words From
- drill·a·ble adjective
- drill·a·bil·i·ty [dril-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
- drill·er noun
- un·drill·a·ble adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of drill1
First recorded in 1605–15; from Dutch dril (noun), drillen (verb)
Origin of drill2
First recorded in 1720–30; compare drill “rill,” German Rille “furrow,” rillen “to groove”
Origin of drill3
First recorded in 1735–45; short for drilling 2
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Word History and Origins
Origin of drill1
C17: from Middle Dutch drillen; related to Old High German drāen to turn
Origin of drill2
C18: of uncertain origen; compare German Rille furrow
Origin of drill3
C18: variant of German Drillich, from Latin trilīx, from tri- + līcium thread
Origin of drill4
C17: from a West African word; compare mandrill
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Synonym Study
See exercise.
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