spill1
/spɪl
/verb (past and past participle spilled or spilt) [with object]
1Cause or allow (liquid) to flow over the edge of its container, especially unintentionally: you’ll spill that tea if you’re not careful figurative azaleas spilled cascades of flowers over the pathways...
- Shara's hand shook as she picked up a cup of coffee, spilling the now-cold liquid on the article she had just concluded.
- First she spilt the oil, then she broke a container, and finally, she spurted food coloring all over our bags.
- I place the mugs on a small wooden tray and carry it out to the divan, trying not to spill the hot liquid.
Synonyms
knock over, tip over, upset, overturn;
Scottish & Northern Irish cowp
1.1 [no object] (Of liquid) flow over the edge of its container: some of the wine spilled on to the floor figurative light spilled into the room from the landing...
- She held his gaze until the tears spilled over onto her cheeks.
- Sophie sustained first, second and third degree burns when a bowl of boiling water spilled over her torso and legs.
- A choked sob caught in her throat, and she brought a hand up to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears that spilled over onto her reddened cheeks.
Synonyms
overflow, flow, pour, run, slop, slosh, splash, splatter;
brim, well;
leak, escape
British informal splosh
rare overbrim
1.2(With reference to the contents of something) empty out or be emptied out on to a surface: [with object]: the bag fell to the floor, spilling out its contents [no object]: passengers' baggage had spilled out of the hold...
- The piece then moved and slid over, several empty cans spilled out.
- She wasn't in the bathroom and her purse had been left behind, sitting on the bedside dresser with its contents spilling out.
- Looking down, he saw his bookbag lying on its side, the top flap open and its contents spilled out.
1.3 [no object, with adverbial of direction] (Of a number of people) move out of somewhere quickly: students began to spill out of the building...
- As I shuffled at a near run down the hall other students began to spill down that corridor, all trying to dash into their classrooms so as to avoid the same fate that I had a sinking feeling I would be receiving.
- The bell must have rung because students began spilling out from the school.
- Students spilled out of the classroom, some of them looking at me oddly.
Synonyms
stream, pour, surge, swarm, flood, throng, crowd, mill
1.4(In the context of ball games) drop (the ball).Kildare were presented with an opportunity when city keeper Jimmy Fyfe collected a through ball before inexplicably spilling the ball at the feet of Zeller....
- A dazzling move started by the winger was also unfortunately ended by the same pair of hands, clumsily spilling the ball whilst attempting to offload.
- Five minutes later a great tackle from John Cookson resulted in a Blackpool player spilling the ball.
1.5 Sailing Let (wind) out of a sail, typically by slackening the sheets.With his constant guidance and criticism, they do their best to fashion sails that are strong yet can spill the wind quickly....
- Toby brought the dinghy under the cruiser's stern, spilling the wind as he did so.
2 informal Reveal (confidential information) to someone: she ought not to be spilling out her troubles to you...
- As Abby kept spilling information it was all making sense.
- Ariela glanced at Bull, to check if it was all right with him to spill information.
- The more I talked about myself, the more likely I would be to spill that information.
Synonyms
reveal, disclose, divulge, let out, leak, blurt out, babble, betray, make known, tell
informal let on, blab
3Cause to fall off a horse or bicycle: the horse was wrenched off course, spilling his rider...
- Cody's first round passed through one of Yellow Hair's legs and killed his horse, spilling the warrior to the ground.
Synonyms
unseat, throw, dislodge, unhorse
noun
1A quantity of liquid that has spilled or been spilt: wipe up spills immediately...
- Clean both stone surfaces daily with a soft cloth using mild dish soap, and wipe off any spills immediately.
- Wipe up spills in the refrigerator promptly to avoid staining and odors.
- Following a regular maintenance schedule and wiping up any spills immediately should keep the interior of the car attractive and comfortable.
1.1An instance of a liquid spilling or being spilt: he was absolved from any blame for the oil spill...
- Other refuges have been battered by oil drilling, toxic spills and massive floods, and few have had the political or financial muscle to defend themselves.
- And, once she had invented a slit valve that allowed liquid to be sucked out but prevented accidental spills, Mrs Haberman thought the hardest part was over.
- And an oil spill or industrial disaster can wipe out big chunks of the environment.
Synonyms
spillage;
leak, leakage, overspill, overflow, flood
archaic spilth
2A fall from a horse or bicycle.At one point in the show he told amusingly of how he took a spill in the road, and some of the pages fell out and were scattered....
- One of the reasons I'm back right now riding after the terrible spill I had was the attachment I have to the horse that did this to me.
- Take, for instance, the minor scrapes you can get from a mishap in the free-weight room, or from a spill on your bike.
Synonyms
fall, tumble, accident
informal header, cropper, nosedive
3Australian A vacating of all or several posts in a cabinet or parliamentary party to allow reorganization after one important change of office.
Phrases
spill the beans
spill (someone's) blood
spill one's guts
Phrasal verbs
spill over
Derivatives
spiller
- As everyone awkwardly shifted their tray tables so she could go to the bathroom and wash up, the spiller grabbed her dinner rolls from her tray.
- The only excitement we've had is those spillers.
- ‘How strange and inconsistent are the prejudices of man,’ she exclaims, ‘here is a warrior - a spiller of human life by profession… yet he shudders at the thought of adding one murder more to the many already committed ’.
Origin
Old English spillan 'kill, destroy, waste, shed (blood'); of unknown origin.
Old English spillan meant ‘kill, destroy’, a sense that was common until about 1600, and ‘shed (blood)’. The sense ‘allow liquid to pour out or over’ arose from the latter in late Middle English.
Rhymes
spill2
/spɪl/noun
A thin strip of wood or paper used for lighting a fire, candle, pipe, etc.In front of us stood a low oaken table on which there was more mead and wine, and, appropriately for the room, a collection of long clay pipes, loose tobacco and spills.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'sharp fragment of wood'): obscurely related to spile. The current sense dates from the early 19th century.