I. spill 1 S3 /spɪl/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle spilt /spɪlt/ especially British English or spilled especially American English )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: spillan 'to kill, destroy, waste' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] if you spill a liquid, or if it spills, it accidentally flows over the edge of a container ⇨ pour :
Katie almost spilled her milk.
spill something down/on/over something
Oh no! I’ve spilt coffee all down my shirt!
spill on/over etc
He slipped and the wine spilled all over the carpet.
2 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if people or things spill out of somewhere, they move or fall out in large numbers SYN pour
spill out/into/onto etc
Crowds from the theatre were spilling onto the street.
3 . spill the beans informal to tell something that someone else wanted you to keep a secret
4 . spill your guts American English informal to tell someone all about your private life, or about a personal secret
5 . spill blood literary to kill or wound people
⇨ cry over spilt milk at ↑ cry 1 (3)
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THESAURUS
▪ pour to make a liquid or other substance flow out of or into a container by holding it at an angle:
Jessica was pouring more wine into her glass.
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He poured me a drink.
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Raj poured some water from the jug.
▪ drizzle to pour a liquid onto food in small drops or in a small stream – often used in cooking instructions:
Drizzle a little olive oil onto the bread.
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Drizzle the lemon juice over the cake.
▪ tip to pour something out of a container by turning it upside down:
He tipped the cup of milk into the pan.
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She weighed out the flour and tipped it into the bowl.
▪ spill to accidentally make a liquid or other substance come out of a container:
Someone had spilled coffee all over the carpet.
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The tanker was leaking, and spilled oil into the sea.
▪ splash to pour a liquid quickly in an irregular stream:
Tony hurriedly splashed some cream in his coffee.
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Someone had splashed petrol over the steps and set light to them.
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She splashed some perfume onto her wrists.
▪ decant to pour liquid from one container into another container – a rather formal use:
Rachel decanted the shampoo into small bottles for travelling.
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He often decanted cheap whisky into bottles of more expensive brands.
spill into/onto something phrasal verb literary
if light spills onto or into something, it shines through a window, door, hole etc onto something else:
The morning light spilled into the room.
spill over phrasal verb
if a problem or bad situation spills over, it spreads and begins to affect other places, people etc
spill over into
The conflict might spill over into neighbouring towns.
II. spill 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ spill 1 ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] when you spill something, or an amount of something that is spilled:
the enormous oil spill off the southern tip of the Shetland Islands
2 . [countable] a fall from a horse, bicycle etc:
Tyson broke a rib when he took a spill on his motorcycle.