silo

American  

[sahy-loh] / ˈsaɪ loʊ /

noun

silos plural

1. a structure, typically cylindrical, in which fodder or forage is kept.

   The dairy farm's two biggest buildings were the barn and the silo full of feed for the cows.

2. a pit or underground space for storing grain, green feeds, etc.

3. Military. an underground installation constructed of concrete and steel, designed to house a ballistic missile and the equipment for firing it.

4. a group, unit, enterprise, etc., that is isolated from others or functions independently, typically viewed as not deriving the benefits of interrelationships or collaboration.

   Fundraising department silos happen when different teams don't share their ideas and plans.

5.  information silo.   data silo.  Computers. an unintegrated data repository that cannot share its stored data with other systems, subsystems, or applications.

   When an organization deploys a stand-alone solution to improve operations, it risks creating a data silo that may present difficulties when trying to scale throughout the enterprise.

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verb (used with object)

siloed, siloing

1. to put into or preserve in a silo, as fodder, grain, or missiles.

2. to separate or isolate (a group, unit, enterprise, etc.) from others.

   We Americans are now more sheltered and siloed in our sources of news than ever before.

silo British  

/ ˈsaɪləʊ /

noun

1. a pit, trench, horizontal container, or tower, often cylindrical in shape, in which silage is made and stored

2. a strengthened underground position in which missile systems are sited for protection against attack

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Etymology

Origin of silo

First recorded in 1825–35; from Spanish: “place for storing grain, hay, etc.,” originally, “subterranean”; further origin uncertain

Explanation

A silo is a cylindrical tower used for bulk storage, like grain silos that stand tall near farms. Another kind of silo is harder to see — military silos are underground. Farming and war are pretty different, but they both involve silos. You may have seen a silo if you've ever visited a farm. A silo is a tall tower with a cylindrical (rounded) shape. The silo holds anything the farmer needs to store in bulk, especially feed for the animals. Other, non-farm silos hold material such as cement or coal. The military type of silo holds something more dangerous: missiles. These silos store the missiles underground until they’re fired.

Example Sentences

Others to be recognised at the event at Claridge's hotel on Tuesday included Killing Eve and Silo star Dame Harriet Walter, who was given the icon award for her theatre, film and TV work.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2024

Mike Arnold, the CEO and founder of Silo Wellness, another company offering psilocybin retreats in Jamaica, has a different view.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2023

While the image everyone sees is of a gray and toxic world inhospitable to life, a contraband version shows blue skies and green trees — supposedly evidence of the Silo leadership’s manipulation.

From New York Times • Jul. 4, 2023

Roy and Silo hatched the egg and raised the female chick, Tango, who went on to pair with another female penguin called Tanuzi.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2023

Though Babi worked at Silo, Kabul’s gigantic bread factory, where he labored amid the heat and the humming machinery stoking the massive ovens and mill grains all day, he was a university-educated man.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• cellar
• granary
• storehouse