drillen

[ˈdʁɪlən]

/[ˈdʁɪlən]/ verb

The verdict

“drillen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden einem regelmäßigen, harten Lernen oder Training unterziehen, Soldaten einüben, einexerzieren, Disziplin beibringen

Corpus desk

Index DE-drillen · drillen · German

drillen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for drillen
PropertyValue
Headworddrillen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈdʁɪlən]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „drillen“ im Deutschen

drillenliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

drillen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈdʁɪlən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for drillen, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is drillen, spelled D-R-I-L-L-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden einem regelmäßigen, harten Lernen oder Training unterziehen, Soldaten einüben, einexerzieren, Disziplin beibringen
  2. 2
    Tieren, vor allem Hunden, durch Übungen besondere Fertigkeiten beibringen
  3. 3
    durch monothones Wiederholen gehorsam machen
  4. 4
    den Widerstand des Fisches nach dem Anbeißen brechen
  5. 5
    drehend, windend miteinander verflechten
  6. 6
    mit der Drillmaschine in Reihen säen
  7. 7
    mit einem Drillbohrer bohren

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how drillen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Israels Armee zieht Eliteeinheiten heran, um ein neues Schlachtfeld zu erobern: das der Medien. In Intensivkursen werden Soldaten gedrillt, die mit Kameras, Blogs und Twitter ihre Einsätze begleiten und so das Image des Militärs aufpolieren sollen.“
  2. Wenn sie das dann bei der Einschulung schon können, kommen die Eltern in Verruf, sie hätten ihre Kinder gedrillt.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drillen"?
"drillen" is spelled D-R-I-L-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈdʁɪlən].
What does "drillen" mean?
As a verb, "drillen" means: jemanden einem regelmäßigen, harten Lernen oder Training unterziehen, Soldaten einüben, einexerzieren, Disziplin beibringen
How do you pronounce "drillen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drillen" is [ˈdʁɪlən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "drillen" come from?
"drillen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list