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.
Meanings
Any thing that has been spilled; the resulting mess.
A fall or stumble.
The bruise is from a bad spill he had last week.
(archaic) Synonym of taper, a thin stick, long wick, etc. used to transfer flame.
“In a moment, he has torn the letter into long thin strips, and rolling them up into spills he thrusts them hurriedly in amongst the other spills in the vase on the mantle-piece.” 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 182:
Kit froze with the pipe between his teeth, the relit spill pressed to the weed within it. 2008, Elizabeth Bear, Ink and Steel: A Novel of the Promethean Age:
A slender piece of anything. ▸ A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask'; a spile.
A slender piece of anything. ▸ A metallic rod or pin.
A slender piece of anything. ▸ A spillikin.
A tool with which to extract the spills from the pile. 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 125:
(Shropshire) A slender piece of anything. ▸ A splinter caught in the skin.
One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.
(qualifier:sound recording) The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.
(obsolete) A small sum of money.
Spill or Sportule for the same from the credulous Laity 1726, John Ayliffe, Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani: Or, A Commentary, by Way of Supplement to the Canons and Constitutions of the Church of England. […], London: […] D. Leach, and sold by John Walthoe […], →OCLC:
(Australian) A declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant, and open for re-election. Short form of leadership spill.
nl gemorste (something that has been dropped) · bg разливане (something that has been dropped) · fi putoaminen (something that has been dropped) · fr déversement (something that has been dropped) · sv spill (something that has been dropped) · ru разли́в (something that has been dropped) · fi läikkyminen (something that has been dropped)
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.
Meanings
(transitive) To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour.
I spilled some sticky juice on the kitchen floor.
(intransitive) To spread out or fall out, as above.
He was so topful of himself, that he let it spill on all the company. 1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], →OCLC:
Some sticky juice spilled onto the kitchen floor.
(intransitive, of a crowd or people within a crowd) To overflow out of a designated area.
The crowd spilled onto Maple Avenue.
(transitive) To drop something that was intended to be caught.
That should have been that, but Hart caught a dose of the Hennessey wobbles and spilled Adlene Guedioura's long-range shot. 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport:
To mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste.
Spill not the morning (the quintessence of day) in recreations. 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:
They [the colours] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship. 1589, George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie:
(intransitive, obsolete) To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to waste.
That thou wilt suffer innocence to spill. 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Man of Lawes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:
This winter’s weather it waxeth cold, / And frost it freezeth on every hill, / And Boreas blows his blast so bold / That all our cattle are like to spill. 16th century, Anonymous, "The Old Cloak", st. 1, as reported in The Oxford Book of English Verse (1900)
(also, figuratively, intransitive) To overflow or flow out, over or off something.
Liverpool Street's 1985-92 remodelling by the British Rail Architects' Department (under project lead Nick Derbyshire) had carefully followed original 1870s detailing, with the concourse designed to allow natural light to spill into the station. 2025 February 5, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Railway Heritage saved in 2024”, in RAIL, number 1028, page 53:
(transitive) To cause or flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed.
The cracking sound, he explained, as far as I, a non-plumber, could understand, was the sound of the overworked, undermaintained and weirdly installed heating unit’s core rupturing and spilling water into the basement. 2007 February 18, Jake Mooney, “A Case of the Shivers”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022:
to revenge his Blood, ſo juſtly ſpilt, / VVhat is it leſs then to partake his guilt? 1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, page 44:
(obsolete, slang, transitive) To cause to be thrown from a mount, a carriage, etc.
Then, not thirty feet beyond, a sudden panicky lunge to the side by his horse spilled him from the saddle. 2007, Eric Flint, David Weber, 1634: The Baltic War:
To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay.
And all the others pavement were with yvory spilt 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain.
(Australian, transitive) To open the leadership of a parliamentary party for re-election.
(ambitransitive) To reveal information to an uninformed party.
He spilled his guts out to his new psychologist.
‘You wanted to know where we were going. Follow me. I’m going to spill it.’ 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 32:
(of a knot) To come undone.
(transitive) To express (something), especially repeatedly or floridly; to be expressed.
He spilled insults about the other team.
Praise spilled from him every day.
Forms
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Translations (127)
de ruinieren (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · vi đổ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fur stranfâ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · az tökmək (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · az calamaq (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · acw كَبّ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · az calanmaq (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ru проли́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ca vessar (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · el χύνομαι (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · nds-de pütschern (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · pl wylać (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru рассы́паться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · pl rozlewać (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · cmn 潑掉 /泼掉 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de verschwenden (transitive: to cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed) · ru разлива́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · fr renverser (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · mba migpusik (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · el ξεχειλίζω (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ru пролива́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de verderben (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · ru рассыпа́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · hy թափվել (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ru просыпа́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ka ღვრა (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · wa spåde (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · es derramar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · pa ਰੋੜ੍ਹਨਾ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · nl morsen (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · uk розли́ти (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · cs rozsypat (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · gl derramar (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · tyz bá (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · hu szór (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fi kaataa (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · pl wylewać (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ro vărsa (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · uga 𐎌𐎔𐎋 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru пролива́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · gl derramar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · bg разливам се (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · cmn 潑 /泼 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fi levitä (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ja 零れる (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fur spandi (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru просыпа́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · hu önt (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · pa ਡੋਲ੍ਹਣਾ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ar أَسْجَمَ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ko 엎지르다 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · chr ᎠᏤᏫᎠ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · nds-de verspillen (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de verpassen (transitive: to drop something that was intended to be caught) · fi päästää (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · pa روڑھنا (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · hu borít (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de versauen (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · it rovesciare (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · sq derdh (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · yue 倒瀉 /倒泻 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ja 零す (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · bg изпускам (transitive: to drop something that was intended to be caught) · ru разли́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · de vergießen (transitive: to cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed) · fr déverser (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · bg разливам (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru рассы́пать (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · az tökülmək (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · nds-de pülschen (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · cs rozlít se (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · acw دلق (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de verschwenden (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · de sich ergießen (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · ar دَلَقَ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de verschütten (transitive: to cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed) · fi läikyttää (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · km កំពប់ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · it versare (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · wa rispåde (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ta கொட்டு (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru разли́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de vergeuden (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · de verschütten (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · wa stårer (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ar أَرَاقَ (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · oc versar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · uk розлива́ти (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · hi छलकना (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · de schütten (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · cmn 洩漏 /泄漏 (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · es verter (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru рассыпа́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · uk розлива́тися (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · rup versu (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · he שפך (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru просы́пать (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · nds-de spillen (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · es efundir (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fr répandre (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · wa rivierser (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru проли́ться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · pt derramar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · tl lalahoy (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · sv spilla (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ta சிந்து (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de versemmeln (transitive: to drop something that was intended to be caught) · de vergeigen (transitive: to drop something that was intended to be caught) · eo verŝi (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · fi läikkyä (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · cs rozlít (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru просы́паться (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · he נשפך (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · pa ڈولھݨا (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · io varsar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de fallen lassen (transitive: to drop something that was intended to be caught) · es extravasarse (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · pl rozlać (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ru разлива́ть (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · ca vessar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · de beschädigen (transitive: to mar; to damage; to destroy by misuse; to waste) · pt entornar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · da spilde (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · el χύνω (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · uk розли́тися (intransitive: to spread out or fall out) · az dağıtmaq (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out) · es desparramar (transitive: to drop something so that it spreads out)