silo
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.
a pit or underground space for storing grain, green feeds, etc.
Military. an underground installation constructed of concrete and steel, designed to house a ballistic missile and the equipment for firing it.
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.
Also called da·ta si·lo [dey-tuh-sahy-loh, dat-uh], /ˈdeɪ tə ˌsaɪ loʊ, ˈdæt ə/, in·for·ma·tion si·lo [in-fer-mey-shuhn sahy-loh]. /ˌɪn fərˈmeɪ ʃən ˌsaɪ loʊ/. 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.
to put into or preserve in a silo, as fodder, grain, or missiles.
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.
Origin of silo
1Words Nearby silo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use silo in a sentence
Monitoring grain silos, at very least, qualifies for the first part.
Crover’s robot swims in grain silos to monitor environmental conditions | Brian Heater | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunchBy combining their wisdom rather than searching for cures in silos, the community of scientists and researchers is speeding the progress exponentially.
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine shows the power of ‘community intelligence’ | matthewheimer | September 9, 2020 | FortuneBoth of these are massive centralized state architectures where the whole point is to remove the technical silos between different state and other kinds of databases, and to make sure that these databases are centrally linked.
Eight case studies on regulating biometric technology show us a path forward | Karen Hao | September 4, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThis was the very breakthrough she needed for going from being caught outside in a separate silo to working inside with the development team.
Power SEO Friendly Markup With HTML5, CSS3, And Javascript | Detlef Johnson | August 20, 2020 | Search Engine LandWe had each been in our own silos trying to advocate with our own local legislators.
How Los Angeles and San Diego Unified Started Driving State Education Policy | Will Huntsberry | July 29, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
There appear to be two crosses atop this overall structure, one on the main house and a larger one on the silo.
Is Correa ready to convert his impoverished nation into a digital missile silo aimed at the giant in El Norte?
Julian Assange’s Asylum Gamble: End of the Wikileaks Saga? | Mac Margolis | July 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe largest and tallest building in Kabul is a grain silo and bread factory, built by the Soviets.
U.S. Must Show It Respects Quran and Its Importance to Afghans | Jere Van Dyk | February 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTEven more wistfully, he was a passionate generalist in a time in which our ideas and expertise have become more and more silo-ed.
Later: a tall, silo-like cement building, apparently used for irrigation.
At the far end of the field he could dimly discern on a little ridge of land a great barn with a huge silo.
The Flying Reporter | Lewis E. (Lewis Edwin) TheissThe latest movement was the silo system, the burying of grass under pressure, instead of making it into hay.
The Hills and the Vale | Richard JefferiesAs a rule the crop should be mown 654 when in full flower, and deposited in the silo on the day of its cutting.
The material is spread in uniform layers over the floor of the silo, and closely packed and trodden down.
Maize is cut a few days before it is ripe and is shredded before being elevated into the silo.
British Dictionary definitions for silo
/ (ˈsaɪləʊ) /
a pit, trench, horizontal container, or tower, often cylindrical in shape, in which silage is made and stored
a strengthened underground position in which missile systems are sited for protection against attack
Origin of silo
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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