Advertisement

View synonyms for spill

spill

1

[ spil ]

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. Also called spill light [spil, lahyt]. superfluous or useless light rays, as from theatrical or photographic lighting units.
  5. Theater. an area of a stage illuminated by spill light.
  6. a throw or fall from a horse, vehicle, or the like:

    She broke her arm in a spill.

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.

spill

1

/ spɪl /

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
“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


spill

2

/ spɪl /

verb

  1. whenintr, 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 disgorged

    the car spilt its passengers onto the road

    the crowd spilt out of the theatre

  3. to shed (blood)
  4. informal.
    Alsospill the beans to disclose something confidential
  5. nautical to let (wind) escape from a sail or (of the wind) to escape from a sail
“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

noun

  1. informal.
    a fall or tumble
  2. short for spillway
  3. a spilling of liquid, etc, or the amount spilt
  4. the declaring of several political jobs vacant when one higher up becomes so

    the Prime Minister's resignation could mean a Cabinet spill

“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
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈspiller, noun
Discover More

Other Words From

  • spill·a·ble adjective noun
  • non·spill·a·ble adjective
  • un·spilled adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of spill1

First recorded before 950; 1920–25 spill 1fordef 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

Origin of spill2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English spille, spil(e); of uncertain origin
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of spill1

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

Origin of spill2

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. spill one's guts. Slang. gut ( def 14 ).
  2. spill the beans. bean ( def 11 ).
  3. spill / toss one's cookies. cookie ( def 8 ).

More idioms and phrases containing spill

In addition to the idiom beginning with spill , also see shed (spill) blood ; take a spill .
Discover More

Example Sentences

Safely store drinks in two cup holders built into the arm rest and—should any spills happen—you can easily clean up the faux leather surface.

These mighty, microfiber towels are capable of dissolving big spills, plus they retain their shape after multiple washes.

Since then, these microbes have been used to clean up oil spills and radioactive waste.

Three weeks ago, I was looking down into my husband’s unblinking eyes, seeing blood spill from his nose and mouth, and feeling my hand trying to stop the bleeding from the back of his head.

She says that after watching Pacific Gas and Electric cut corners and try to cover up spills and plumes, she’s started to notice negligence patterns, and there’s no national database for those toxic hot spots.

A new paper outlines five steps required for a virus to ‘spill over’ from bats to humans.

In the immediate aftermath of the oil spill, apoplectic Southerners cast their disdain towards the North.

Since the spill, the number of unemployed residents in Louisiana and Alabama has only increased.

Bewildered adolescents, many of them accompanied by equally confused guardians, spill out into the hallway.

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.

I am of opinion too, that the Indecency of the next Verse, you spill upon me, would admit of an equal Correction.

I knew that in the open I could in some way spill the horn, so that she would be helpless and harmless afterward.

The ashes there are never to be taken out, no matter if they are piled a foot thick, and spill all over the floor.

But first must you win scars and spill the blood of your foes, that all may learn to fear the utterance of your name.

And you would spill blood sooner than your betters should know it—ye ninny-cumpoops!

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


spilingspillage