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spill

v. · n.
US //ˈspɪɫ// UK //spˈɪl// spill
Irregular verb past spilled / spilt past participle spilled / spilt
  1. 1 to pour accidentally (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to accidentally let liquid or powder flow out of a container.

    to cause a liquid or granular substance to flow or fall from a container, typically by accident.

    Example

    Be careful not to spill your juice on the new white rug.

    Example

    The tanker spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the bay, causing an immediate environmental crisis for the local bird population.
    Pitfall
    I spilled the coffee to my shirt.
    I spilled the coffee on my shirt.

    Use 'on' to describe the surface where the liquid landed.

  2. 2 to reveal a secret (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    to tell someone a secret or private information.

    to disclose confidential information, often used in the idiomatic phrase 'spill the beans'.

    Example

    I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I finally spilled the secret to my sister.

    Example

    After hours of questioning, the witness finally spilled the details regarding the hidden accounts and the offshore transactions.
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  1. 3 a mess of liquid (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    an amount of liquid that has been accidentally poured out.

    an instance of spilling or the quantity of substance that has been spilled.

    Example

    There is a large water spill in the hallway that someone needs to clean up.

    Example

    The laboratory technician immediately followed the safety protocol to contain the chemical spill before it could reach the drainage system.
  2. 4 a fall (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a fall from a bike, a horse, or a vehicle.

    a fall or tumble, particularly from a horse or a moving vehicle.

    Example

    He took a nasty spill off his bicycle and bruised his knee.

    Example

    The jockey was lucky to escape serious injury after taking a heavy spill during the final jump of the race.
  3. 5 a fire-lighting stick (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic

    a thin piece of wood or paper used to move a flame from a fire to a candle.

    a thin strip of wood or a twist of paper used for lighting a lamp, pipe, or fire.

    Example

    He used a wooden spill to light the candles on the high shelf.

    Example

    Before the widespread availability of matches, households kept a jar of paper spills on the mantelpiece to transfer fire from the hearth.
Origin

From Middle English spillen, from Old English spillan, spildan (“to kill, destroy, waste”), from Proto-West Germanic spilþijan, from Proto-Germanic spilþijaną (“to spoil, kill, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to sunder, split, rend, tear”). Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic spilla (“to contaminate, spoil”). See also spool.

Word family
Idioms5 entries

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