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definitions

spill

1
[spil]
See more synonyms for spill on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.
  1. to cause or allow to run or fall from a container, especially accidentally or wastefully: to spill a bag of marbles; to spill milk.
  2. to shed (blood), as in killing or wounding.
  3. to scatter: to spill papers all over everything.
  4. Nautical.
    1. to let the wind out of (a sail).
    2. to lose (wind) from a sail.
  5. to cause to fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like: His horse spilled him.
  6. Informal. to divulge, disclose, or tell: Don't spill the secret.
verb (used without object), spilled or spilt, spill·ing.
  1. (of a liquid, loose particles, etc.) to run or escape from a container, especially by accident or in careless handling.
noun
  1. a spilling, as of liquid.
  2. a quantity spilled.
  3. the mark made by something spilled.
  4. a spillway.
  5. Also called spill light. superfluous or useless light rays, as from theatrical or photographic lighting units.
  6. Theater. an area of a stage illuminated by spill light.
  7. a throw or fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like: She broke her arm in a spill.
Idioms
  1. spill the beans. bean(def 11).
  2. spill/toss one's cookies. cookie(def 7).

Origin of spill

1
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

2
[spil]
noun
  1. a splinter.
  2. a slender piece of wood or of twisted paper, for lighting candles, lamps, etc.
  3. a peg made of metal.
  4. a small pin for stopping a cask; spile.
  5. Mining. forepole.

Origin of spill

2
1250–1300; Middle English spille < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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

Historical Examples of spill

British Dictionary definitions for spill

spill

1
verb spills, spilling, spilt or spilled (mainly tr)
  1. (when intr, usually foll by from, out of, etc) to fall or cause to fall from or as from a container, esp unintentionally
  2. 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
  3. to shed (blood)
  4. Also: spill the beans informal to disclose something confidential
  5. nautical to let (wind) escape from a sail or (of the wind) to escape from a sail
noun
  1. informal a fall or tumble
  2. short for spillway
  3. a spilling of liquid, etc, or the amount spilt
  4. 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

2
noun
  1. a splinter of wood or strip of twisted paper with which pipes, fires, etc, are lit
  2. 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
v.

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.

n.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.