SPILL

spill, tumble, fall

(noun) a sudden drop from an upright position; “he had a nasty spill on the ice”

spill, spillage, release

(noun) the act of allowing a fluid to escape

spillway, spill, wasteweir

(noun) a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or other obstruction

spill

(noun) liquid that is spilled; “clean up the spills”

spill

(verb) reduce the pressure of wind on (a sail)

spill, talk

(verb) reveal information; “If you don’t oblige me, I’ll talk!”; “The former employee spilled all the details”

spill, shed, disgorge

(verb) cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over; “spill the beans all over the table”

spill, shed, pour forth

(verb) pour out in drops or small quantities or as if in drops or small quantities; “shed tears”; “spill blood”; “God shed His grace on Thee”

spill, slop, splatter

(verb) cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container; “spill the milk”; “splatter water”

spill, run out

(verb) flow, run or fall out and become lost; “The milk spilled across the floor”; “The wine spilled onto the table”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

spill (third-person singular simple present spills, present participle spilling, simple past and past participle spilt or spilled)

(transitive) To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour.

(intransitive) To spread out or fall out, as above.

(transitive) To drop something that was intended to be caught.

To mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste.

(obsolete) To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste.

To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed.

To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay.

(nautical) To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain.

(transitive, Australian politics) To open the leadership of a parliamentary party for re-election.

(transitive) To reveal information to an uninformed party.

(of a knot). To come undone.

Noun

spill (plural spills)

(countable) A mess of something that has been dropped.

A fall or stumble.

A small stick or piece of paper used to light a candle, cigarette etc by the transfer of a flame from a fire.

A slender piece of anything.

A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask; a spile.

A metallic rod or pin.

(mining) One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.

(sound recording) The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.

(obsolete) A small sum of money.

(Australian politics) A declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant, and open for re-election. Short form of leadership spill.

Anagrams

• pills

Source: Wiktionary


Spill, n. Etym: [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]

1. A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

2. A slender piece of anything. Specifically: -- (a) A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask; a spile. (b) A metallic rod or pin. (c) A small roll of paper, or slip of wood, used as a lamplighter, etc. (d) (Mining) One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.

3. A little sum of money. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

Spill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.]

Definition: To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay. [Obs.] Spenser.

Spill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilled, or Spilt (; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] Etym: [OE. spillen,sually, to destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel. spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan. spilde,G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG. spildan.]

1. To destroy; to kill; to put an end to. [Obs.] And gave him to the queen, all at her will To choose whether she would him save or spill. Chaucer. Greater glory think [it] to save than spill. Spenser.

2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.] They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship. Puttenham. Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day, in recreations. Fuller.

3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel; to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or flour.

Note: Spill differs from pour in expressing accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose.

4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a man spills another's blood, or his own blood. And to revenge his blood so justly spilt. Dryden.

5. (Naut.)

Definition: To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain. Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail. Totten.

Spill, v. i.

1. To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste. [Obs.] That thou wilt suffer innocents to spill. Chaucer.

2. To be shed; to run over; to fall out, and be lost or wasted. "He was so topful of himself, that he let it spill on all the company." I. Watts.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 December 2024

INTUITIVELY

(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”


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