spill

¹ American  

[spil] / spɪl /

verb (used with object)

spilled, spilt, spilling

1. to cause or allow to run or fall from a container, especially accidentally or wastefully.

   to spill a bag of marbles; to spill milk.

2. to shed (blood), as in killing or wounding.

3. to scatter.

   to spill papers all over everything.

4. Nautical.

   1. to let the wind out of (a sail).

   2. to lose (wind) from a sail.

5. to cause to fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like.

   His horse spilled him.

6. Informal. to divulge, disclose, or tell.

   Don't spill the secret.

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verb (used without object)

spilled, spilt, spilling

1. (of a liquid, loose particles, etc.) to run or escape from a container, especially by accident or in careless handling.

noun

1. a spilling, as of liquid.

2. a quantity spilled.

3. the mark made by something spilled.

4. a spillway.

5. Also called spill light.  superfluous or useless light rays, as from theatrical or photographic lighting units.

6. Theater. an area of a stage illuminated by spill light.

7. a throw or fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like.

   She broke her arm in a spill.

idioms

1. spill the beans. bean.

2. spill one's guts. gut.

3. spill / toss one's cookies. cookie.

spill ² American  

[spil] / spɪl /

noun

1. a splinter.

2. a slender piece of wood or of twisted paper, for lighting candles, lamps, etc.

3. a peg made of metal.

4. a small pin for stopping a cask; spile.

5. Mining. forepole.

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spill ¹ British  

/ spɪl /

verb

1. to fall or cause to fall from or as from a container, esp unintentionally

2. to disgorge (contents, occupants, etc) or (of contents, occupants, etc) to be disgorged

   the car spilt its passengers onto the road

   the crowd spilt out of the theatre

3. to shed (blood)

4. Also: spill the beans.  informal to disclose something confidential

5. nautical to let (wind) escape from a sail or (of the wind) to escape from a sail

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noun

1. informal a fall or tumble

2. short for spillway

3. a spilling of liquid, etc, or the amount spilt

4. the declaring of several political jobs vacant when one higher up becomes so

   the Prime Minister's resignation could mean a Cabinet spill

spill ² British  

/ spɪl /

noun

1. a splinter of wood or strip of twisted paper with which pipes, fires, etc, are lit

2. a small peg or rod made of metal

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spill More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing spill

• shed (spill) blood
• take a spill

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Other Word Forms

• nonspillable adjective
• spillable adjective
• spiller noun
• unspilled adjective

Etymology

Origin of spill¹

First recorded before 950; 1920–25 spill ¹ for def. 6; Middle English spillen “to kill, destroy, shed (blood),” Old English spillan “to kill”; cognate with Middle High German, Middle Dutch spillen; akin to spoil

Origin of spill²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English spille, spil(e); of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

And then I heard the water spilling out of the sink onto the floor.

From Literature

If his living room offers any clues, the task must have been challenging: hundreds, perhaps thousands, of his images hang on every wall and spill across many surfaces.

From Los Angeles Times

The “Saturday Night Massacre” sounds like something that happened during a war, but the only blood spilled in October 1979’s emergency Federal Reserve meeting was in the stock and bond markets.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her gaze lingered over Tansy’s new hat with its bunch of artificial grapes spilling off the brim.

From Literature

Clutching Torak’s quiver, Renn raced to the edge of the trail and tripped on a tree root, spilling arrows in the dirt.

From Literature

Related Words

• discharge
• dribble
• empty
• flow
• overflow
• pour
• run out
• scatter
• spill over
• splash
• spray
• sprinkle
• squirt
• stream