/ spɪl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( spilled , spilled ) ( BrE also spilt , spilt / spɪlt; NAmE /)
1.
( especially of liquid ) to flow over the edge of a container by accident; to make liquid do this :
[ v ]
Water had spilled out of the bucket onto the floor.
[ vn ]
He startled her and made her spill her drink.
Thousands of gallons of crude oil were spilled into the ocean.
2.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] ( of people ) to come out of a place in large numbers and spread out :
The doors opened and people spilled into the street.
( figurative )
Light spilled from the windows.
•
IDIOMS
- spill the beans
- spill (sb's) blood
- spill your guts (to sb)
—more at cry verb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- spill sth out | spill out
- spill over (into sth)
■ noun
1.
(also formal spill·age ) [ C , U ] an act of letting a liquid come or fall out of a container; the amount of liquid that comes or falls out :
Many seabirds died as a result of the oil spill.
I wiped up the coffee spills on the table.
2.
[ C ] a long match, or a thin piece of twisted paper, used for lighting fires, oil lamps, etc.
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] a fall, especially from a bicycle or a boat :
to take a spill
•
IDIOMS
see thrill noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun sense 1 and noun sense 3 verb Old English spillan kill, destroy, waste, shed (blood) ; of unknown origin.
noun sense 2 Middle English (in the sense sharp fragment of wood ). The current sense date from the early 19th cent.