Adjacent Words

Spill definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPILL, n. [a different orthography of spile, supra.]
1. A small peg or pin for stopping a cask; as a vent hole stopped with a spill.
2. A little bar or pin of iron.
3. A little sum of money. [Not in use.]
SPILL, v.t. pret. spilled or spilt; pp. id.
1. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel; to lose to suffer to be scattered; applied only to fluids and to substances whose particles are small and loose. Thus we spill water from a pail; we spill spirit or oil from a bottle; we spill quicksilver or powders form a vessel or a paper; we spill sand or flour.
2. To suffer to be shed; as, a man spills his own blood.
3. To cause to flow out or lose; to shed; as, a man spills another's blood. [This is applied to cases of murder or other homicide, but not to venesection. In the later case we say, to let or take blood.]
4. To mischief; to destroy; as, to spill the mind or soul; to spill glory; to spill forms, etc. [This application is obsolete and now improper.]
5. TO throw away.
6. In seamen's language, to discharge the wind out of the cavity or belly of a sail.
SPILL, v.i.
1. To waste; to be prodigal. [Not in use.]
2. TO be shed; to be suffered to fall, he lost or wasted. He was so topfull of himself, that he let it spill on all the company.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: liquid that is spilled; "clean up the spills"
2: a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or other obstruction [syn: spillway, spill, wasteweir]
3: the act of allowing a fluid to escape [syn: spill, spillage, release]
4: a sudden drop from an upright position; "he had a nasty spill on the ice" [syn: spill, tumble, fall] v
1: cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container; "spill the milk"; "splatter water" [syn: spill, slop, splatter]
2: flow, run or fall out and become lost; "The milk spilled across the floor"; "The wine spilled onto the table" [syn: spill, run out]
3: cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over; "spill the beans all over the table" [syn: spill, shed, disgorge]
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" [syn: spill, shed, pour forth]
5: reveal information; "If you don't oblige me, I'll talk!"; "The former employee spilled all the details" [syn: spill, talk]
6: reduce the pressure of wind on (a sail)

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (spilled; also spilt; spilling) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English spillan; akin to Old English spildan to destroy and perhaps to Latin spolium animal skin, Greek sphallein to cause to fall Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. archaic kill, destroy b. to cause (blood) to be lost by wounding 2. to cause or allow especially accidentally or unintentionally to fall, flow, or run out so as to be lost or wasted 3. a. to relieve (a sail) from the pressure of the wind so as to reef or furl it b. to relieve the pressure of (wind) on a sail by coming about or by adjusting the sail with lines 4. to throw off or out <a horse spilled him> 5. to let out ; divulge <spill a secret> intransitive verb 1. a. to flow, run, or fall out, over, or off and become wasted, scattered, or lost <water spilling over the dam> b. to cause or allow something to spill 2. to spread profusely or beyond bounds <crowds spilled into the streets> 3. to fall from one's place (as on a horse) • spillable adjective • spiller noun II. noun Date: circa 1845 1. the act or an instance of spilling; especially a fall from a horse or vehicle or an erect position 2. something spilled III. noun Etymology: Middle English spille; akin to Middle Low German sp?le thin stick, peg Date: 14th century 1. a wooden splinter 2. a small roll or twist of paper or slip of wood for lighting a fire

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (past and past part. spilt or spilled) 1 intr. & tr. fall or run or cause (a liquid, powder, etc.) to fall or run out of a vessel, esp. unintentionally. 2 a tr. & intr. throw (a person etc.) from a vehicle, saddle, etc. b intr. (esp. of a crowd) tumble out quickly from a place etc. (the fans spilled into the street). 3 tr. sl. disclose (information etc.). 4 tr. Naut. a empty (a sail) of wind. b lose (wind) from a sail. --n. 1 a the act or an instance of spilling or being spilt. b a quantity spilt. 2 a tumble or fall, esp. from a horse etc. (had a nasty spill). 3 Austral. the vacating of all or several posts of a parliamentary party to allow reorganization. Phrases and idioms: spill the beans colloq. divulge information etc., esp. unintentionally or indiscreetly. spill blood be guilty of bloodshed. spill the blood of kill or injure (a person). spill over 1 overflow. 2 (of a surplus population) be forced to move (cf. OVERSPILL). Derivatives: spillage n. spiller n. Etymology: OE spillan kill, rel. to OE spildan destroy: orig. unkn. 2. n. a thin strip of wood, folded or twisted paper, etc., used for lighting a fire, candles, a pipe, etc. Etymology: ME, rel. to SPILE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spill Spill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spill Spill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilled, or Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] [OE. spillen,sually, to destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel. spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan. spilde,G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG. spildan.] 1. To destroy; to kill; to put an end to. [Obs.] And gave him to the queen, all at her will To choose whether she would him save or spill. --Chaucer. Greater glory think [it] to save than spill. --Spenser. 2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.] They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship. --Puttenham. Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day, in recreations. --Fuller. 3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel; to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or flour. Note: Spill differs from pour in expressing accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose. 4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a man spills another's blood, or his own blood. And to revenge his blood so justly spilt. --Dryden. 5. (Naut.) To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain. Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail. --Totten.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spill Spill, n. [[root]170. Cf. Spell a splinter.] 1. A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] 2. A slender piece of anything. Specifically: (a) A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask; a spile. (b) A metallic rod or pin. (c) A small roll of paper, or slip of wood, used as a lamplighter, etc. (d) (Mining) One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground. 3. A little sum of money. [Obs.] --Ayliffe.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spill Spill, v. i. 1. To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste. [Obs.] That thou wilt suffer innocents to spill. --Chaucer. 2. To be shed; to run over; to fall out, and be lost or wasted. ``He was so topful of himself, that he let it spill on all the company.'' --I. Watts.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(spills, spilling, spilled, spilt) Note: American English uses the form 'spilled' as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either 'spilled' or 'spilt'. 1. If a liquid spills or if you spill it, it accidentally flows over the edge of a container. 70,000 tonnes of oil spilled from the tanker... He always spilled the drinks... Don't spill water on your suit. VERB: V adv/prep, V n, V n adv/prep, also V 2. A spill is an amount of liquid that has spilled from a container. She wiped a spill of milkshake off the counter... An oil spill could be devastating for wildlife. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. If the contents of a bag, box, or other container spill or are spilled, they come out of the container onto a surface. A number of bags had split and were spilling their contents... He carefully balanced the satchel so that its contents would not spill out onto the floor. VERB: V n, V adv/prep 4. If people or things spill out of a place, they come out of it in large numbers. Tears began to spill out of the boy's eyes... VERB: V adv/prep 5. to spill the beans: see bean thrills and spills: see thrill

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Shed, effuse, pour out.

Moby Thesaurus

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