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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

spill

/spɪl/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does spill mean?

verb

  1. To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour.
  2. To spread out or fall out, as above.
  3. To overflow out of a designated area.
More meanings (23)

verb

  1. To drop something that was intended to be caught.
  2. To mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste.
  3. (figuratively) To overflow or flow out, over or off something.
  4. To cause or flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed.
  5. To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay.
  6. 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.
  7. To open the leadership of a parliamentary party for re-election.
  8. To reveal information to an uninformed party.
  9. To come undone.
  10. To express (something), especially repeatedly or floridly; to be expressed.
  11. (obsolete) To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste.
  12. (obsolete, slang) To cause to be thrown from a mount, a carriage, etc.

noun

  1. Any thing that has been spilled; the resulting mess.
  2. A fall or stumble.
  3. A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask'; a spile.
  4. A metallic rod or pin.
  5. A spillikin.
  6. A splinter caught in the skin.
  7. One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.
  8. The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.
  9. A declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant, and open for re-election. Short form of leadership spill.
  10. (archaic) Synonym of taper, a thin stick, long wick, etc. used to transfer flame.
  11. (obsolete) A small sum of money.
Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/spɪl/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Signa is apt to be skittish at mealtime, when the men are about, and to spill the coffee or upset the cream.
Willa CatherO Pioneers!Project Gutenberg ebook #24
It appeared that two light-footed soldiers had been teasing a huge, bearded man, causing him to spill coffee upon his blue knees.
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarProject Gutenberg ebook #73
More book examples (3)
I would see the butter melt and run down the sides, and I would say, "Hurry, mother, it is going to spill!"
Ralph Albert ParletteThe University of Hard KnocksProject Gutenberg ebook #455
The dogs' greatest interest was, of course, concentrated upon these objects, and one had to be extremely lucky to avoid a spill.
Roald AmundsenThe South Pole; an account of the Norwegian Antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912 — Volume 1Translated by Arthur G. ChaterProject Gutenberg ebook #3414
This paper the boy proceeded to unfold, taking care not to spill the pills, and found several lines clearly written in red ink.
L. Frank (Lyman Frank) BaumThe Marvelous Land of OzProject Gutenberg ebook #54