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spilt

[spilt]
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verb
  1. a simple past tense and past participle of spill1.
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Related formsun·spilt, adjective

spill1

[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.
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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.
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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.
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Idioms
  1. spill the beans. bean(def 11).
  2. spill/toss one's cookies. cookie(def 7).
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Origin of spill1

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

sprinklestreamsquirtflowpourdribblespraysplashdischargeoverflowscatteremptyblowshedrundisgorgesplatterupsetdriplose

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British Dictionary definitions for spilt

spilt

verb
  1. a past tense and past participle of spill 1
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spill1

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
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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
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Derived Formsspiller, noun

Word Origin

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

spill2

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
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Word Origin

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 spilt

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.

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spill

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with spilt

spill

In addition to the idiom beginning with spill

  • spill the beans

also see:

  • shed (spill) blood
  • take a spill
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.