Definition: spill
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
spill
n 1: liquid that is spilled; "clean up the spills"
2: a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or
other obstruction [syn: spillway, wasteweir]
3: the act of allowing a fluid to escape [syn: spillage, release]
4: a sudden drop from an upright position; "he had a nasty
spill on the ice" [syn: tumble, fall]
v 1: cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a
container; "spill the milk"; "splatter water" [syn: slop,
splatter]
2: flow, run or fall out and become lost, as of a liquid; "The
milk spilled across the floor"; "The wine spilled onto the
table" [syn: run out]
3: cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or
over; "spill the beans all over the table" [syn: shed, disgorge]
4: pour out in drops or small quantities or as if in drops or
small quantities; "shed tears"; "spill blood"; "God shed
His grace on Thee" [syn: shed, pour forth]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Spill \Spill\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] To cover or decorate with slender pieces of wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay. [Obs.] --Spenser.
Spill \Spill\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilled, or Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] [OE. spillen,sually, to destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel. spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan. spilde,G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG. spildan.] 1. To destroy; to kill; to put an end to. [Obs.] And gave him to the queen, all at her will To choose whether she would him save or spill. --Chaucer. Greater glory think [it] to save than spill. --Spenser. 2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.] They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship. --Puttenham. Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day, in recreations. --Fuller. 3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel; to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or flour. Note: Spill differs from pour in expressing accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose. 4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a man spills another's blood, or his own blood. And to revenge his blood so justly spilt. --Dryden. 5. (Naut.) 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. Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail. --Totten.
Spill \Spill\, n. [[root]170. Cf. Spell a splinter.] 1. A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] 2. A slender piece of anything. Specifically: (a) A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a cask; a spile. (b) A metallic rod or pin. (c) A small roll of paper, or slip of wood, used as a lamplighter, etc. (d) (Mining) One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground. 3. A little sum of money. [Obs.] --Ayliffe.
Spill \Spill\, v. i.
1. To be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to
perish; to waste. [Obs.]
That thou wilt suffer innocents to spill. --Chaucer.
2. To be shed; to run over; to fall out, and be lost or
wasted. ``He was so topful of himself, that he let it
spill on all the company.'' --I. Watts.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
spill register spilling
