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. 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). spillage n. spiller n.
[ OE spillan kill, rel. to OE spildan destroy: orig. unkn. ]