spill

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The form for the past tense and past participle is spilled or spilt:

He nearly spilled his drink—John Updike, 1988

The lounge boy...left too much change on the table and a puddle where he'd spilt the Coke—Roddy Doyle, 1990

Other multinationals doubtless polluted waterways or spilt their toxics—Guardian, 1994.

Although spilt was the more favoured form until the end of the 19th century spilled seems to be more common in current usage (especially in the past form), but spilt is secure in the expression (crying over) spilt milk. There is no clear evidence of a distinction in the patterns between British English and American English.

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verb

1. To grow or spread in a disorderly or planless fashion: sprawl, straggle. See order/disorder.
2. To come to the ground suddenly and involuntarily: drop, fall, go down, nose-dive, pitch, plunge, topple, tumble. Idioms: take afallheaderplungespilltumble. See rise/fall.
3. To disclose in a breach of confidence: betray, blab, divulge, expose, give away, let out, reveal, tell, uncover, unveil. Archaic discover. Idioms: let slip, let the cat out of the bag, spill the beans, tell all. See show/hide.

noun

A sudden involuntary drop to the ground: dive, fall, nosedive, pitch, plunge, tumble. Informal header. See rise/fall.

Idioms beginning with spill:
spill the beans

In addition to the idiom beginning with spill, also see shed (spill) blood; take a spill.

v

Definition: reveal
Antonyms: conceal, hide

v

Definition: slop, drop
Antonyms: clean up, pick up

v. past and past part. spilled or spilt let (wind) out of a sail, typically by slackening the sheets.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

in. to confess. (Underworld.)  The cops tried to get her to spill, but she just sat there.

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verb trans
verb trans, orig US

1: To utter (words); to confess or divulge (facts). (1917 —) .
I. Shaw He picked up the phone to call the Colonel, spill everything (1977).

2: to spill the beans orig US To divulge information, esp. unintentionally or indiscreetly. (1919 —) .
E. Linklater 'Tell me the truth,' she says. 'Spill the beans, Holly, old man!' (1929).

3: to spill one's guts mainly US To divulge as much as one can, to confess. (1927 —) .
A. Hailey The kid—he was eighteen, by the way, and not long out of trade school—broke down and spilled his guts (1979).

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For a list of words related to spill, see:

• Reasoning and Informing - spill: Informal. divulge or reveal
• Secrecy and Concealment - spill: (vb) divulge a secret

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See words rhyming with "spiller."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Spill.

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - spilde, lade løbe over, lade flyde, udgyde, strø, vælte, røbe
v. intr. - løbe over, flyde, spildes
n. - udslip, spildt materiale, pind, pløk, tap, fald, væltetur

idioms:

• spill blood    udgyde blod, lade blodet flyde
• spill out    hælde ud, lade flyde ud, sprede til alle sider
• spill over    løbe over, flyde over, brede sig
• spill the beans    plapre ud med det hele

2.
n. - pind

Nederlands (Dutch)
morsen, (ver)spillen, laten stromen/vallen, overstroming, valpartij, koker

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - renverser, laisser tomber (un liquide), déverser, (Naut) étouffer (une voile)
v. intr. - se répandre, (fig) se répandre, (Naut) se déventer
n. - chute, déversement accidentel, accrochage

idioms:

• spill blood    verser le sang
• spill out    se répandre, (fig) étaler, laisser échapper, révéler, débiter
• spill over    s'étendre à, (lit) déborder, (fig) s'étendre à, dégénérer en
• spill the beans    trahir, vendre la mèche

2.
n. - allume-feu

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - verschütten, überlaufen
n. - Vergießen

idioms:

• spill blood    Blut vergießen
• spill out    hervorsprudeln
• spill over    überlaufen, überquellen
• spill the beans    verraten

2.
n. - Fidibus

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - χύνω/-ομαι, διασπείρω/-ομαι, (δια)σκορπίζω/-ομαι, (καθομ.) διαδίδω φήμη κ.λπ., ανατρέπω/ρίχνω αναβάτη
n. - διαρροή, ποσότητα διαρροής, (καθομ.) πέσιμο, πτώση (αναβάτη), έναυσμα, προσάναμμα

idioms:

• spill blood    χύνω αίμα, γίνομαι/είμαι υπεύθυνος αιματοχυσίας
• spill out    χύνομαι, ξεχειλίζω, ξεχύνομαι, μαρτυρώ
• spill over    ξεχειλίζω
• spill the beans    τα βγάζω όλα στη φόρα, κν. κελαηδάω

Italiano (Italian)
versare, caduta

idioms:

• spill blood    versare sangue
• spill out    riversarsi
• spill over    spandersi
• spill the beans    rivelare, spiattellare, spifferare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - transbordar, entornar
n. - derramamento (m), transbordamento (m)

idioms:

• spill blood    derramar sangue, matar
• spill out    fala!, começa a falar!
• spill over    excesso
• spill the beans    dar com a língua nos dentes

Русский (Russian)
проливать, проливаться, рассыпать, рассыпаться, сбросить, свалиться, разбросать, проболтаться, пролитие, то, что пролито, падение (с лошади), ливень, осколок, жгут из бумаги, колышек, затычка, прут

idioms:

• spill blood    проливать кровь
• spill out    выбалтывать
• spill over    пролить, рассыпать
• spill the beans    проболтаться, распустить язык

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - derramar, verter, volcar
v. intr. - derramarse, verterse, irse, desbordarse
n. - caída, derramamiento, derrame, espita

idioms:

• spill blood    derramar sangre, matar
• spill out    echar, desembuchar
• spill over    salirse, desbordarse
• spill the beans    descubrir el pastel, cometer una indiscreción

2.
n. - alegrador (para encender)

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - spilla, stjälpa ut, strö, utgjuta, kasta av, stjälpa, rinna över, välta
n. - spill, utsläpp, tunn trästicka, hoprullad pappersremsa, metalltapp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 使溢出, 洒, 使散落, 溢出, 充满, 涌流, 涌出, 溅出

idioms:

• spill blood    犯杀人罪
• spill out    散出
• spill over    溢出
• spill the beans    说漏嘴

2. 木片, 纸捻, 小金属棒, 小塞子, 销子

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 木片, 紙撚, 小金屬棒, 小塞子, 銷子

2.
v. tr. - 使溢出, 灑, 使散落
v. intr. - 溢出, 充滿, 湧流
n. - 溢出, 湧出, 濺出

idioms:

• spill blood    犯殺人罪
• spill out    散出
• spill over    溢出
• spill the beans    說漏嘴

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - 엎지르다, 피를 흘리다, (비밀을) 누설하다
v. intr. - 엎질러지다, 사방으로 흩어지다, 고자질하다
n. - 엎지름, (말 등에서) 떨어지기, 더러움

idioms:

• spill out    (그릇에서) 엎지르다, 엎질러지다
• spill over    넘치다

2.
n. - 점화용 심지나 나무, (나무 등의) 파편, (통의) 나무 마개

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - こぼす, こぼれる, 流す, 漏らす, 秘密を漏らす, 放り出す, 振り落とす, いっぱいに広がる
n. - こぼすこと, こぼれること, こぼれたもの, 落ちること, 付け木, 汚れ

idioms:

• spill blood    小さな勝利を得る
• spill one's guts    肚のうちを吐き出す
• spill out    こぼれる, あふれ出る
• spill over    あふれる
• spill the beans    秘密を漏らす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) أراق, اندلق, انكب, انسكب, فاض (الاسم) سقوط (عن ظهر فرس, ), اندلاق ( بترول من باخرة مثلا)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮שפך, הפיל רוכב (לגבי סוס), סיפר, הלשין, גילה‬
v. intr. - ‮נשפך, הפיל רוכב (לגבי סוס), סיפר, הלשין, גילה‬
n. - ‮שפיכה, נפילה, פיסת-נייר מגולגלת‬
n. - ‮גזר-עץ, קיסם‬

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