spill

[spil]

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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.

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

spill

[spil]

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

Related Words for spill

sprinkle, stream, squirt, flow, pour, dribble, spray, splash, discharge, overflow, scatter, empty, blow, shed, run, disgorge, splatter, upset, drip, lose

Examples from the Web for spill

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of spill

It simply must be done to preserve the equilibrium and avoid a spill.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
Spill it all out, I say, an' make the world smell as sweet as honey.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
But I think they'll a' gang daft, and spill bluid like wather!'
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens
“Guess we could spill some of it, sergeant,” he declared meaningly.
The Law-Breakers
Ridgwell Cullum
One sharp curve in the track and that load will spill all over the place.
Sure Pop and the Safety Scouts
Roy Rutherford Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for spill

spill

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

spill

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

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.

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