# spill

/ˈspɪɫ/ (US) · /spˈɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/spill
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to pour accidentally

verb · CEFR B1

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

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

- Be careful not to spill your juice on the new white rug.
- The tanker spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the bay, causing an immediate environmental crisis for the local bird population.

### 2. to reveal a secret

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to tell someone a secret or private information.

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

- I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I finally spilled the secret to my sister.
- After hours of questioning, the witness finally spilled the details regarding the hidden accounts and the offshore transactions.

### 3. a mess of liquid

noun · CEFR B1

an amount of liquid that has been accidentally poured out.

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

- There is a large water spill in the hallway that someone needs to clean up.
- The laboratory technician immediately followed the safety protocol to contain the chemical spill before it could reach the drainage system.

### 4. a fall

noun · CEFR B2

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

For teachers: a fall or tumble, particularly from a horse or a moving vehicle.

- He took a nasty spill off his bicycle and bruised his knee.
- The jockey was lucky to escape serious injury after taking a heavy spill during the final jump of the race.

### 5. a fire-lighting stick

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

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

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

- He used a wooden spill to light the candles on the high shelf.
- Before the widespread availability of matches, households kept a jar of paper spills on the mantelpiece to transfer fire from the hearth.

## Examples

- Be careful not to spill your coffee on the rug.
- The waiter accidentally bumped the table, causing the wine to spill across the white tablecloth.
- While the immediate cleanup of the chemical spill was successful, environmentalists remain concerned about the long-term impact on the local groundwater supply.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.