Link Centre Dictionary

spill

UK/spɪl/ US/spɪɫ/ fairly common slang
verb (5) noun (4)

verb

1.

cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container

  • “spill the milk”
  • “splatter water”
Synonyms
2.

flow, run or fall out and become lost

  • “The milk spilled across the floor”
  • “The wine spilled onto the table”
Synonyms
3.

cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over

  • “spill the beans all over the table”
Synonyms
4.

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”
Synonyms
5.

reveal information

  • “If you don”
  • “ll talk!”
  • “The former employee spilled all the details”
Synonyms

noun

1.

liquid that is spilled

  • “clean up the spills”
2.

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

Synonyms
3.

the act of allowing a fluid to escape

Synonyms
4.

a sudden drop from an upright position

  • “he had a nasty spill on the ice”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English spillen, from Old English spillan, spildan (“to kill, destroy, waste”), from Proto-West Germanic *spilþijan, from Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to spoil, kill, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to sunder, split, rend, tear”). Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic spilla (“to contaminate, spoil”). See also spool.

Phrases

  • cry over spilt milk
  • oil spill
  • spill blood
  • spill ink
  • spill juice
  • spill kit
  • spill one's guts
  • spill one's guts out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.