drill 1 (dr l)n. 1. a. An implement with cutting edges or a pointed end for boring holes in hard materials, usually by a rotating abrasion or repeated blows; a bit. b. The hand-operated or hand-powered holder for this implement. c. A loud, harsh noise made by or as if by a powered tool of this kind. 2. a. Disciplined, repetitious exercise as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure. b. A task or exercise for teaching a skill or procedure by repetition: conducted an air-raid drill; a drill for learning the multiplication tables. 3. The training of soldiers in marching and the manual of arms. 4. Any of various marine gastropod mollusks, chiefly of the genus Urosalpinx, that bore holes into the shells of bivalve mollusks. U. cinera is destructive to oysters. v. drilled, drill·ing, drills v.tr. 1. a. To make a hole in (a hard material) with a drill: a bit for drilling masonry. b. To make (a hole) with or as if with a drill: drills holes in trees with its chisellike bill. 2. To strike or hit sharply: The batter drilled a single through the infield. 3. a. To instruct thoroughly by repetition in a skill or procedure: drill pupils in grammar. b. To infuse knowledge of or skill in by repetitious instruction. See Synonyms at teach. 4. To train (soldiers) in marching and the manual of arms. v.intr. 1. To make a hole with or as if with a drill. 2. To perform a training exercise. [Obsolete Dutch dril, from drillen, to bore, from Middle Dutch drillen; see ter  -1 in Indo-European roots.]drill  er n. |
| drill 2 (drl) n. 1. A shallow trench or furrow in which seeds are planted. 2. A row of planted seeds. 3. A machine or implement for planting seeds in holes or furrows. tr.v. drilled, drill·ing, drills 1. To sow (seeds) in rows. 2. To plant (a field) in drills. [Perhaps from drill, rill, from Middle English drille, sip.] |
| drill 3 (drl) n. Durable cotton or linen twill of varying weights, generally used for work clothes. [Short for drilling, alteration of German Drillich, from Middle High German drilich, threefold, fabric woven with three threads, from Old High German dril  h, alteration (influenced by dr, three, and -lh, adj. suff.) of Latin trilx, triple-twilled; see trellis.] |
| drill 4 (drl) n. A baboon (Papio leucophaeus) of western Africa, related to and resembling the mandrill. [Possibly of West African origin.] |
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