drill down

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drill-down" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drill down” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To examine something on a more detailed level.

Key facts for drill down
PropertyValue
Headworddrill down
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “drill down” sits in English frequency

drill down falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for drill down is 10 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for drill down, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is drill down, spelled D-R-I-L-L- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To examine something on a more detailed level.
  2. 2
    To examine information at another level or in greater detail; especially in a database, to navigate to a more detailed level or record.
  3. 3
    To replace data with more specific data.
  4. 4
    To practice maneuvers in order to memorize them; to drill thoroughly (to practice).
  5. 5
    To score points; to do well in a basketball game.

Synonyms

get down to bedrockget down to brass tacks

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 "drill down"?
"drill down" is spelled D-R-I-L-L- -D-O-W-N.
What does "drill down" mean?
As a verb, "drill down" means: To examine something on a more detailed level.
What language does "drill down" come from?
"drill down" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “drill down”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-I-L-L- -D-O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list