Drill — Defs

01 v. t. To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.

imp. & p. p. Drilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Drilling

1.
To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.
2.
To train in the military art; to exercise diligently, as soldiers, in military evolutions and exercises; hence, to instruct thoroughly in the rudiments of any art or branch of knowledge; to discipline.
“He [Frederic the Great] drilled his people, as he drilled his grenadiers.” — Macaulay.

02 v. i. To practice an exercise or exercises; to train one's self.

1.
To practice an exercise or exercises; to train one's self.

03 n. An instrument with an edged or pointed end used for making holes in hard substances; strictly, a tool that cuts with its end, by revolving,…

1.
An instrument with an edged or pointed end used for making holes in hard substances; strictly, a tool that cuts with its end, by revolving, as in drilling metals, or by a succession of blows, as in drilling stone; also, a drill press.
2.
The act or exercise of training soldiers in the military art, as in the manual of arms, in the execution of evolutions, and the like; hence, diligent and strict instruction and exercise in the rudiments and methods of any business; a kind or method of military exercises; as, infantry drill; battalion drill; artillery drill.(Mil.)
3.
Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.
4.
A marine gastropod, of several species, which kills oysters and other bivalves by drilling holes through the shell. The most destructive kind is Urosalpinx cinerea.(Zool.)

Phrases & compounds

Bow drill — See under Bow, Breast.

Cotter drill — a machine tool for drilling slots.

Diamond drill — See under Diamond.

Drill jig — See under Jig.

Drill pin — the pin in a lock which enters the hollow stem of the key.

Drill sergeant — a noncommissioned officer whose office it is to instruct soldiers as to their duties, and to train them to military exercises and evolutions.

Vertical drill — a drill press.

04 v. t. To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum.

1.
To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum.[R.]
2.
To sow, as seeds, by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row, like a trickling rill of water.
3.
To entice; to allure from step; to decoy; -- with on.[Obs.]
“See drilled him on to five-fifty.” — Addison.
4.
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.[Obs.]
“This accident hath drilled away the whole summer.” — Swift.

05 v. i. To trickle.

1.
To trickle.[Obs. or R.]
2.
To sow in drills.

06 n. A small trickling stream; a rill.

1.
A small trickling stream; a rill.[Obs.]
“Springs through the pleasant meadows pour their drills.” — Sandys.
2.
An implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.(Agr.)

Phrases & compounds

Drill barrow — a wheeled implement for planting seed in drills.

Drill bow — a small bow used for the purpose of rapidly turning a drill around which the bowstring takes a turn.

Drill harrow — a harrow used for stirring the ground between rows, or drills.

Drill plow — a sort plow for sowing grain in drills.

07 n. A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).

1.
A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).(Zool.)

08 n. Same as Drilling.

1.
Same as Drilling.(Manuf.) See: Drilling

Phrases & compounds

Imperial drill — a linen fabric having two threads in the warp and three in the filling.