drill
/dɹɪl/verb, noun
drill is spelled D-R-I-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, drill means “To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in drill?
| Letters | 5: D-R-I-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is drill?
Drill appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce drill?
- /dɹɪl/
- [dɹɪɫ]
Drill has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-drill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of drill
- drills present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- drilling participle, present
- drilled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does drill mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool).
Drill a small hole to start the screw in the right direction.
- 2
To practice, especially in (or as in) a military context.
They drilled daily to learn the routine exactly.
- 3
To cause to drill (practice); to train, especially in military arts.
The sergeant was up by 6:00 every morning, drilling his troops.
- 4
To repeat an idea frequently in order to encourage someone to remember it.
The instructor drilled into us the importance of reading the instructions.
- 5
To investigate or examine something in more detail or at a different level
Drill deeper and you may find the underlying assumptions faulty.
- 6
To throw, run, hit or kick with a lot of power.
He drilled down the court and made a three-pointer.
- 7
To hit someone with a pitch, especially in an intentional context.
- 8
slangvulgarTo have sexual intercourse with; to penetrate.
- 9
To sow (seeds) by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row.
- 10
To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling.
waters drilled through a sandy stratum
- 11
obsoleteTo protract, lengthen out; fritter away, spend (time) aimlessly.
Quit purposely drilling out the time hoping that someone else will do your chores.
- 12
obsoleteTo entice or allure; to decoy; with on.
- 13
obsoleteTo cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
August 28, 1731, letter by Jonathan Swift to John Gay and Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry This cursed accident hath drilled away the whole summer.
noun
- 1
A tool or machine used to remove material so as to create a hole, typically by plunging a rotating cutting bit into a stationary workpiece.
Wear safety glasses when operating an electric drill.
- 2
The portion of a drilling tool that drives the bit.
Use a drill with a wire brush to remove any rust or buildup.
- 3
An activity done as an exercise or practice (especially a military exercise), particularly in preparation for some possible future event or occurrence.
fire drill
- 4
A short and highly repeatable sports training exercise designed to hone a particular skill that may be useful in competition.
At today's practice, the football team performed a variety of goalkeeping drills.
- 5
Any of several molluscs, of the genus Urosalpinx and others, especially the oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea), that make holes in the shells of their prey.
- 6
A style of trap music with gritty, violent lyrics, originating on the South Side of Chicago.
- 7
A single performance of drill music.
- 8
An agricultural implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
- 9
A light furrow or channel made to put seed into, when sowing.
- 10
A row of seed sown in a furrow.
- 11
An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.
- 12
A strong, durable cotton fabric with a strong bias (diagonal) in the weave.
- 13
obsoleteA small trickling stream; a rill.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Drill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | forer, percer , s'entraîner , entraîner , rabâcher , approfondir |
| German | bohren , schleifen , drillen , Bohrer, Bohrmaschine , Drill |
| Portuguese | furar, perfurar, brocar , treinar, exercitar , inculcar |
| Spanish | perforar, agujerear, taladrar, horadar, drilear , entrenar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does drill come from?
From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).