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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• silos
  plural

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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

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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

See Examples For:

silo silos siloed siloing

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced last year that it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” from the general hotline, starting in July 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

To test this idea, the researchers created a computer model that treats floating ice somewhat like grains moving through a silo.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

But those timings mean he cannot get the cereal straight to a local silo because they are not open then.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Salesforce’s customer relationship management data only represent an isolated silo of its customers’ total footprint, Goldberg said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Mr. Van Sandtford steps out on the porch to join me, and his eyes sweep over his farm as he checks bam, silo, and fields in the manner of a farmer.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The ranch is nestled in a corner of Nebraska that's home to rolling green hills under sweeping Midwestern skies, the landscape dotted with grain silos and feedlots alongside fields and fields of bovines.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Bates saw silos and some finger pointing when he arrived.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Both Irvine and Carmel Valley are silos from the problems of the outside world, places where everything might seem perfect, even when it isn’t, her brother said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

To be successful in achieving Bessent’s objectives, the U.S. government will need a comprehensive framework for industrial policies that treats geoeconomics, AI and energy as intertwined domains, not as separate silos.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Standing there in the middle of Yellow Dog Road, I could see plenty of land but nothing more wonderful than barns and silos.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

"I think within the platforms those departments are very siloed - so what we would love is for those conversations to be much more holistic."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Metal, even when siloed off from broader music culture, has always been a commercial powerhouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

When you find one that is gracious enough to host you, it can feel like discovering a rare gem in a mine of homebodies and those siloed to their own friend groups or families.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

The report also highlighted a "siloed way of working" described by some families between the bereavement service, mortuary and funeral directors.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

When the refuse has been siloed for eight months, and 12 per cent. of the animal's weight is used, there will follow a slight daily increase in weight.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 832, December 12, 1891 by Various

A two-year technical program runs the risk of siloing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

"One thing we often talk about is not siloing HIV and exceptionalising it," he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2024

I’ve noticed this siloing rising in my own life — especially since my family’s run through Seattle public schools ended during the pandemic.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2023

The show, presented in the gentler vein of "The Great British Bake-Off," was fairly unique for featuring pastry and savory chefs competing against one another as opposed to siloing them.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023

Since the early 2000s, Piper has refused to let her work be included in all-Black shows, arguing that such siloing further marginalizes Black artists.

From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2022

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Related Words

• cellar
• granary
• storehouse

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