drill

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [C] a tool or machine with a pointed end for making holes: an electric drill * a pneumatic drill * a hand drill * a dentist's drill * a drill bit (= the pointed part at the end of the drill) 2 [C,U] a way of learning sth by means of repeated exercises: tense drills 3 [C,U] a practice of what to do in an emergency, for example if there is a fire: There'll be a fire drill sometime this morning. 4 [U] military training in marching, the use of weapons, etc: rifle drill 5 (the drill) [sing.] (old-fashioned, BrE) the correct or usual way to do sth: What's the drill for claiming expenses? 6 [U] strong cotton fabric 7 [C] a machine for planting seeds in rows verb 1 to make a hole in sth, using a drill: [VN] Drill a series of holes in the frame. * [V] They're drilling for oil off the Irish coast. * He drilled through the wall by mistake. 2 ~ sb (in sth) to teach sb to do sth by making them repeat it a lot of times: [VNtoinf] The children were drilled to leave the classroom quickly when the fire bell rang. * [VN] a well-drilled team 3 [VN] to train soldiers to perform military actions: The soldiers were being drilled outside the barracks. PHRASALVERBS drill sth into sb to make sb remember or learn sth by repeating it often: It was drilled into us at an early age never to drop litter.