Dril vs. Drill — Which is Correct Spelling?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 2, 2024
"Dril" is a misspelling, while "drill" is the correct spelling referring to a tool or training exercise.
Table of Contents
Which is correct: Dril or Drill
How to spell Drill?
Dril
Incorrect Spelling
Drill
Correct Spelling
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Key Differences
Imagine a drill bit, which is elongated, like the double "ll".
Recall: "One 'l' is a mistake; two 'll' is correct."
Think of "drill" like "fill" – both have double last letters.
Use word association: Drill = Skill. Both have double last letters.
A drill digs, so it goes "down" like two "ll" going down.
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How Do You Spell Drill Correctly?
Incorrect: She participated in a soccer dril to improve her skills.
Correct: She participated in a soccer drill to improve her skills.
Incorrect: He needs a dril to complete the project.
Correct: He needs a drill to complete the project.
Incorrect: Can you hand me that electric dril?
Correct: Can you hand me that electric drill?
Incorrect: The fire dril was scheduled for 10 AM.
Correct: The fire drill was scheduled for 10 AM.
Incorrect: The military dril was rigorous and disciplined.
Correct: The military drill was rigorous and disciplined.
Drill Definitions
An exercise for training in military procedures.
The soldiers participated in a morning drill.
A repeated practice to develop a skill.
The basketball team did shooting drills.
A drill or drilling machine is a tool primarily used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver, depending on application, secured by a chuck.
A tool or machine with a rotating cutting tip or reciprocating hammer or chisel, used for making holes.
Instruction or training in military exercises
Parade-ground drill
A predatory mollusc that bores into the shells of other molluscs in order to feed on the soft tissue.
A machine which makes small furrows, sows seed in them, and then covers the seed with earth.
A dark brown baboon with a short tail and a naked blue or purple rump, found in the rainforests of West Africa.
A coarse twilled cotton or linen fabric
Top quality cotton drill with reinforced seams
Sturdy clothes in drill, denim and linen
Produce (a hole) in something by or as if by boring with a drill
Drill holes through the tiles for the masonry pins
Subject (someone) to military training exercises
A sergeant was drilling new recruits
Sow (seed) with a drill
Crops drilled in autumn
An implement with cutting edges or a pointed end for boring holes in hard materials, usually by a rotating abrasion or repeated blows; a bit.
The hand-operated or hand-powered holder for this implement.
A loud, harsh noise made by or as if by a powered tool of this kind.
Disciplined, repetitious exercise as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure.
A task or exercise for teaching a skill or procedure by repetition
Conducted an air-raid drill.
A drill for learning the multiplication tables.
The training of soldiers in marching and the manual of arms.
Any of various marine gastropod mollusks, chiefly of the genus Urosalpinx, that bore holes into the shells of bivalve mollusks. U. cinera is destructive to oysters.
A shallow trench or furrow in which seeds are planted.
A row of planted seeds.
A machine or implement for planting seeds in holes or furrows.
Durable cotton or linen twill of varying weights, generally used for work clothes.
A large monkey (Mandrillus leucophaeus) of west-central African forests, having an olive brown body and a brightly colored face and resembling the mandrill.
To make a hole in (a hard material) with a drill
A bit for drilling masonry.
To make (a hole) with or as if with a drill
Drills holes in trees with its chisellike bill.
To strike or hit sharply
The batter drilled a single through the infield.
To instruct thoroughly by repetition in a skill or procedure
Drill pupils in grammar.
To infuse knowledge of or skill in by repetitious instruction
Drilled the correct spellings into the students' heads.
To train (soldiers) in marching and the manual of arms.
To make a hole with or as if with a drill.
To perform a training exercise.
To sow (seeds) in rows.
To plant (a field) in drills.
(transitive) To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill tool.
Drill a small hole to start the screw in the right direction.
(intransitive) To practice, especially in (or as in) a military context.
They drilled daily to learn the routine exactly.
(ergative) To cause to drill practice; to train in military arts.
The sergeant was up by 6:00 every morning, drilling his troops.
(transitive) To repeat an idea frequently in order to encourage someone to remember it.
The instructor drilled into us the importance of reading the instructions.
To investigate or examine something in more detail or at a different level
Drill deeper and you may find the underlying assumptions faulty.
(transitive) To hit or kick with a lot of power.
(baseball) To hit someone with a pitch, especially in an intentional context.
To have sexual intercourse with; to penetrate.
(slang) To shoot; to kill.
(transitive) To sow (seeds) by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row.
(transitive) To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling.
Waters drilled through a sandy stratum
To protract, lengthen out; fritter away, spend (time) aimlessly.
Quit purposely drilling out the time hoping that someone else will do your chores.
To entice or allure; to decoy; with on.
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
A tool used to remove material so as to create a hole, typically by plunging a rotating cutting bit into a stationary workpiece.
Wear safety glasses when operating an electric drill.
The portion of a drilling tool that drives the bit.
Use a drill with a wire brush to remove any rust or buildup.
An activity done as an exercise or practice (especially a military exercise), particularly in preparation for some possible future event or occurrence.
Regular fire drills can ensure that everyone knows how to exit safely in an emergency.
A short and highly repeatable sports training exercise designed to hone a particular skill that may be useful in competition.
Any of several molluscs, of the genus Urosalpinx, especially the oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea), that drill holes in the shells of other animals.
A style of trap music with gritty, violent lyrics, originating on the South Side of Chicago.
An agricultural implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
A light furrow or channel made to put seed into, when sowing.
A row of seed sown in a furrow.
(obsolete) A small trickling stream; a rill.
An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.
A strong, durable cotton fabric with a strong bias (diagonal) in the weave.
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.
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.
To practice an exercise or exercises; to train one's self.
To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum.
To sow, as seeds, by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row, like a trickling rill of water.
To entice; to allure from step; to decoy; - with on.
See drilled him on to five-fifty.
To trickle.
To sow in drills.
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.
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.
Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.
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.
A small trickling stream; a rill.
Springs through the pleasant meadows pour their drills.
An implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).
Same as Drilling.
A tool with a sharp point and cutting edges for making holes in hard materials (usually rotating rapidly or by repeated blows)
Similar to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored
Systematic training by multiple repetitions;
Practice makes perfect
(military) the training of soldiers to march (as in ceremonial parades) or to perform the manual of arms
Make a hole with a pointed power or hand tool;
Don't drill here, there's a gas pipe
Drill a hole into the wall
Drill for oil
Train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons
Learn by repetition;
We drilled French verbs every day
Pianists practice scales
Teach by repetition
Undergo military training or do military exercises
A tool or machine for boring holes.
He used a drill to make a hole in the wall.
To instruct or train through repetitive exercises.
The teacher drilled the students in math.
To bore a hole using a tool.
I need to drill into this wood piece.
Drill Meaning in a Sentence
The carpenter used a drill to make holes in the wood.
The drill instructor was known for his tough training methods.
The students practiced the spelling bee drill every afternoon.
She bought a new drill to add to her toolkit.
They conducted a drill to prepare for emergency evacuations.
During the drill, everyone exited the building calmly.
The teacher used a math drill to help students memorize times tables.
He charged the drill before starting the home improvement project.
The drill bit needs to be replaced after extensive use.
The drill sergeant demanded perfection from the recruits.
She used a hammer drill to penetrate the concrete wall.
He found an ancient drill while excavating the archaeological site.
The dentist used a small drill to remove the cavity.
The team's morning drill included running and stretching.
The drill press in the workshop was used for precision work.
After the drill, they reviewed what went well and what needed improvement.
The emergency drill included scenarios like earthquakes and floods.
Students groaned when it was time for the vocabulary drill.
The pilot performed a drill to simulate engine failure.
He carefully selected a drill bit for drilling through metal.
Common Curiosities
Why is it called Drill?
It derives from the Dutch word "dril," meaning 'to bore or turn'.
What is the verb form of Drill?
Drill (as in "to drill a hole").
What is the pronunciation of Drill?
/drɪl/
What is the root word of Drill?
Derived from Middle Dutch "drillen" meaning "to bore".
Which preposition is used with Drill?
"With" as in "drill with a sharp bit".
Which conjunction is used with Drill?
"And" as in "drill and practice".
Which vowel is used before Drill?
The vowel "i" is used.
Is Drill a noun or adjective?
It can be both a noun and a verb.
Is Drill an abstract noun?
No.
What is the singular form of Drill?
Drill.
Is Drill a countable noun?
Yes.
Is the word Drill imperative?
It can be used in an imperative manner: "Drill the hole now!"
Is the word Drill a gerund?
Drilling is the gerund form.
What is the opposite of Drill?
Fill (in the context of holes).
What is the plural form of Drill?
Drills.
Which article is used with Drill?
"The" or "a" based on context.
Is Drill a vowel or consonant?
It's a word containing both vowels and consonants.
Is Drill a collective noun?
No.
Which determiner is used with Drill?
"This", "that", "a", "the" can all be used, depending on context.
What part of speech is Drill?
Noun and verb.
What is the first form of Drill?
Drill.
What is the third form of Drill?
Drilled.
Is the Drill term a metaphor?
It can be used metaphorically, as in "drilling information into someone".
Is the word “Drill” a Direct object or an Indirect object?
It can be either, depending on the sentence.
How many syllables are in Drill?
One syllable.
What is a stressed syllable in Drill?
The entire word "drill" is stressed, as it's only one syllable.
What is the second form of Drill?
Drilled.
How is Drill used in a sentence?
"She used a drill to make a hole in the wooden plank."
Is Drill an adverb?
No.
Is Drill a negative or positive word?
Neutral, but context determines its tone.
How do we divide Drill into syllables?
Drill is a single syllable word.
What is another term for Drill?
Bore (as a verb).
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
