drill

drill

drill¹ [dril]

n.

[Du dril < drillen, to bore, ult. < IE base * ter, to rub (esp. with turning motion) > THROW]

1. a tool or apparatus for boring holes in wood, metal, stone, teeth, etc.

2. the sound of drilling or boring

☆ 3. any of various genera of snails, esp. a saltwater species (Urosalpinx cinerea), that bores through the shells of oysters and other shellfish and consumes their flesh

4.

a) military or physical training, esp. of a group, as in marching, the manual of arms, or gymnastic exercises

b) a single exercise in such training

5.

a) the process of training or teaching by the continued repetition of an exercise

b) a single exercise in such training or teaching

6. the method or style of drilling

7. Informal the accepted or usual way of doing something

vt.

[Du drillen]

1. to bore (a hole) in (something) with or as with a drill

2. to train in military or physical exercise; specif., to exercise (troops) in close-order drill

3. to teach or train by putting through repeated exercises

4. to instill (ideas, facts, etc.) into someone by repeated exercises

☆ 5. Informal to hit sharply [she drilled the ball past the pitcher; I drilled him with the ball ]

☆ 6. Slang to penetrate with bullets

vi.

1. to bore a hole or holes

2. to engage in, or be put through, military, physical, or mental exercises

SYN.- PRACTICE

driller

n.

drill² [dril]

n.

[< ?]

1. a furrow in which seeds are planted

2. a row of planted seeds

3. a machine for making holes or furrows, dropping seeds into them, and covering them

vt.

1. to sow (seeds) in rows to improve growth and efficiency

2. to plant (a field) in drills: cf. BROADCAST (vt. 1)

drill³ [dril]

n.

[< earlier drilling < Ger drillich < OHG drilich, made of three threads < L trilix (gen. trilicis) < tri-, TRI- + licium, thread]

a coarse linen or cotton cloth with a diagonal weave, used for work clothes, uniforms, etc.

drill⁴ [dril]

n.

[< ? native term]

a short-tailed, bright-cheeked monkey (Mandrillus leucophaeus) native to W Africa, resembling the mandrill but smaller