1. 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.
Phrases and idioms:
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).
Derivatives:
spillage n. spiller n.
Etymology: OE spillan kill, rel. to OE spildan destroy: orig. unkn. 2. n. a thin strip of wood, folded or twisted paper, etc., used for lighting a fire, candles, a pipe, etc.
Etymology: ME, rel. to SPILE