drilled 1 of 2

verb (1)

past tense of drill
1
as in pierced
to make a hole or series of holes in the nerve-jangling sound when a dentist drills a tooth

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2
as in popped
to strike with a missile from a gun drilled the target from 100 yards away

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drilled

2 of 2

verb (2)

past tense of drill
as in planted
to put or set into the ground to grow he drills soybeans in the same rows with corn

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drilled
Verb
Brown drilled a corner 3 with one second remaining, forcing overtime at 117. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 27 Oct. 2026 The bigger habit, though, is the one her mother drilled in long before SPF was mainstream. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026 Rauf drilled debutant fast bowler Henry Crocombe for a straight boundary to cap a remarkable recovery for Pakistan. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 Four plays later, Malik Orsan drilled a walk-off 48-yard field goal as time expired, and the South Carolina faithful stormed the field. — Ryan Morik Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 Just two years ago, in 2024, Schmidt and the Trades Council were on opposite sides of a different ballot measure proposal — one over an oil industry effort to repeal a law banning oil and gas wells from being drilled too close to parks and schools. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Week 2 required overtime, as Harrison Butker drilled a 40-yard field goal on the final play to beat the Indianapolis Colts 33-30. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026 The family has seemingly drilled a hole directly into the middle of their kitchen island to accommodate the charging cable, for one. — Allison Johnson, The Verge, 13 Oct. 2026 Corsair drilled the inner portion of its 200mm fan frames to screw directly onto the rails when they are set at their 140mm position. — Thomas Soderstrom, PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drilled
  1. pierced
  2. popped
  3. planted
  4. punched
  5. plugged
  6. seeded
  7. poked
  8. shot
Verb
  • The bullet pierced the rear passenger window of Irvine’s car, striking him in the right shoulder and causing his death.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Maria Paronich, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Cook for 20 minutes, or until the squash falls apart when pierced with a fork.
    — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of pierced
Verb
  • Third-string tight end Luke Schoonmaker is also questionable to play with a groin injury that popped up in Thursday’s practice.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2026
  • When the meeting concluded, some of the scientists popped their bottles of cava in celebration.
    — Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of popped
Verb
  • Some Kurdish women describe violations of their bodily autonomy—having something foreign planted into the Kurdish female body through torture, rape, and trauma in the collective memory.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The memorial included plaques and a tree planted in Johnson's memory.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of planted
Verb
  • The Miz pumped his fist twice and punched the air walking off the mound.
    — Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The departure of Weil’s M&A chief, Michael Aiello, along with a team of partners, to Cravath last month punched a hole in the firm’s billings and rattled those left behind.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of punched
Verb
  • Each console was tested in the device's performance mode while plugged directly into power, with the only difference being the resolution.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The roommate then plugged the camera in and saw several videos of Long inside the bedroom testing out the device, according to the report.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of plugged
Verb
  • To demonstrate this, the researchers seeded the platform with human cardiac cells, which gradually grew into and around the mesh, integrating the electronic network into the developing tissue.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Among those cosmic relics are raw organic building blocks, the kind that may have seeded life on Earth.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of seeded
Verb
  • Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Already poked, the league bear hasn’t exactly gone into hibernation, either.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • For the game, the Heat shot a poor 14 of 25 (56%) from the foul line on Monday.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In the spirit of B-movie icons like Roger Corman, the film was shot in four days for $40,000 in order to celebrate Chris LaMartina’s 40th birthday.
    — William Earl, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of shot

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Cite this Entry

“Drilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drilled. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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