drilling
/ˈdɹɪlɪŋ/noun, verb
drilling is spelled D-R-I-L-L-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, drilling means “Making holes in objects” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of drilling is drillings.
How many letters and syllables are in drilling?
| Letters | 8: D-R-I-L-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th 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 drilling?
Drilling appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th 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 drilling?
- /ˈdɹɪlɪŋ/
Drilling has 2 syllables (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).
Forms of drilling
- drillings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does drilling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Making holes in objects.
- 2
Performing drills (exercises).
- 3
A long firearm with three barrels (typically a mix of shotgun and rifle barrels).
- 4
A heavy, twilled fabric of linen or cotton; drill.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of drill
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Drilling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of drilling:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | perforación |
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 drilling come from?
From drill + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).