spill

[ spil ]

/ spɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spill ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.

to cause or allow to run or fall from a container, especially accidentally or wastefully: to spill a bag of marbles; to spill milk.

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

to scatter: to spill papers all over everything.

Nautical.

to let the wind out of (a sail).
to lose (wind) from a sail.

to cause to fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like: His horse spilled him.

Informal. to divulge, disclose, or tell: Don't spill the secret.

verb (used without object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.

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

noun

a spilling, as of liquid.

a quantity spilled.

the mark made by something spilled.

a spillway.

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

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

a throw or fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like: She broke her arm in a spill.

Nearby words

spikenard, spiker, spiky, spile, spiling, spill, spill over, spill the beans, spillage, spillane, spillikin

Idioms

spill the beans. bean(def 11).

spill/toss one's cookies. cookie(def 7).

Origin of spill

before 950; 1920–25 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

Related formsspill·a·ble, adjective, nounnon·spill·a·ble, adjectiveun·spilled, adjective

Definition for spill (2 of 2)

spill

[ spil ]

/ spɪl /

noun

a splinter.

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

a peg made of metal.

a small pin for stopping a cask; spile.

Mining. forepole.

Origin of spill

1250–1300; Middle English spille < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spill

A new paper outlines five steps required for a virus to ‘spill over’ from bats to humans.
Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved|Carrie Arnold|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since the spill, the number of unemployed residents in Louisiana and Alabama has only increased.
Deepwater Horizon: Life Drowning in Oil|Samuel Fragoso|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bewildered adolescents, many of them accompanied by equally confused guardians, spill out into the hallway.
The Border Kid Crisis Hits the Courts|Caitlin Dickson|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nor is it the way the gunman manages not to spill a drop of the drink in his other hand as he commits all this savagery.
Bronx Gunman Shot His Friend, Didn’t Spill His Drink|Michael Daly|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Zaun, who was starting to look like the favorite, took the stage to cheers and vowed “I will spill my blood to save the unborn.”
The Bizarro World Of Iowa’s GOP Convention|Ben Jacobs|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Twenty-year thrills more readily than forty-year, just as forty-year is more reluctant to take a chance at a spill.
Down the Yellowstone|Lewis R. Freeman
He had taken a leaf of the raw tobacco and adding a pinch for filler was trying to twist the spill.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
"It will last until bedtime," she announced, and lit it with a spill of paper.
The Doomsman|Van Tassel Sutphen
The cloth stained with blood, that we should not hesitate to spill ours for the good of Masonry.
The Mysteries of Free Masonry|William Morgan
He goes around holding one hand in the other as if he were afraid he'd spill it!
Quin|Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for spill (1 of 2)

spill

/ (spɪl) /

verb spills, spilling, spilt or spilled (mainly tr)

(when intr, usually foll by from, out of, etc) to fall or cause to fall from or as from a container, esp unintentionally

to disgorge (contents, occupants, etc) or (of contents, occupants, etc) to be disgorgedthe car spilt its passengers onto the road; the crowd spilt out of the theatre

to shed (blood)

Also: spill the beans informal to disclose something confidential

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

noun

informal a fall or tumble

short for spillway

a spilling of liquid, etc, or the amount spilt

Australian the declaring of several political jobs vacant when one higher up becomes sothe Prime Minister's resignation could mean a Cabinet spill

Derived Formsspiller, noun

Word Origin for spill

Old English spillan to destroy; related to spildan, Old High German spaltan to split; see spoil

British Dictionary definitions for spill (2 of 2)

spill

/ (spɪl) /

noun

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

a small peg or rod made of metal

Word Origin for spill

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German spilla, Middle Dutch spile stake

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

Old English spillan "destroy, kill," variant of spildan, from Proto-Germanic *spelthijanan (cf. Old High German spildan "to spill," Old Saxon spildian, Old Norse spilla "to destroy," Middle Dutch spillen "to waste"), from PIE *spel- "to split, break off" (cf. Middle Dutch spalden, Old High German spaltan "to split;" for further cognates, see spoil). Related: Spilled; spilling.

Sense of "let (liquid) fall or run out" developed mid-14c. from use of the word in reference to shedding blood (early 12c.). Intransitive sense is from 1650s. Spill the beans recorded by 1910 in a sense of "spoil the situation;" to cry for spilt milk (usually with negative) is attested from 1738.

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

1845, originally "a throw from a horse," from spill (v.).

Idioms and Phrases with spill

spill

In addition to the idiom beginning with spill

spill the beans

also see:

shed (spill) blood
take a spill

spill

verb (used with object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.

verb (used without object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.

noun

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Origin of spill

Definition for spill (2 of 2)

spill

noun

Origin of spill

Examples from the Web for spill

British Dictionary definitions for spill (1 of 2)

spill

verb spills, spilling, spilt or spilled (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for spill

British Dictionary definitions for spill (2 of 2)

spill

noun

Word Origin for spill

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

Idioms and Phrases with spill

spill

spill

verb (used without object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of spill

Definition for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} spill (2 of 2)

spill

noun

Origin of spill

Examples from the Web for spill

British Dictionary definitions for spill (1 of 2)

spill

verb spills, spilling, spilt or spilled (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for spill

British Dictionary definitions for spill (2 of 2)

spill

noun

Word Origin for spill

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

Word Origin and History for spill (1 of 2)

spill

Idioms and Phrases with spill

spill

Definition for spill (2 of 2)