1
as in piercing
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 shooting
to strike with a missile from a gun
drilled the target from 100 yards away
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as in planting
to put or set into the ground to grow
he drills soybeans in the same rows with corn
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Recent Examples of drilling
National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
For producers, prices were high enough to turn a profit but not high enough to justify sending a bunch of drilling rigs out to boost production.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 7 May 2026
Carpenter bees can damage untreated wood by drilling holes to create nests.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 May 2026
Not from the pumps — the thieves are drilling holes in gas tanks to get it.
—Reg Chapman, CBS News, 5 May 2026
In practices during the week of the game, the team kept drilling a goal-line play that featured Joly as a fullback who would emerge out of the backfield and make a beeline to the flat.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Instead of drilling blindly, mission planners could target locations where ice lies closest to the surface, providing a clearer picture of its depth and distribution.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 May 2026
Open the new unit and mount it on the wall by drilling holes for the screws and anchors included in the package.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2026
Since January 2025, engineers at L3Harris Technologies have been drilling, wiring, and reinforcing.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
Brown declared, pulling a handle that started drilling the first hole of soil tests for a subway that planners estimated could be built in just three years.
—National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
For producers, prices were high enough to turn a profit but not high enough to justify sending a bunch of drilling rigs out to boost production.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 7 May 2026
Carpenter bees can damage untreated wood by drilling holes to create nests.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 May 2026
Not from the pumps — the thieves are drilling holes in gas tanks to get it.
—Reg Chapman, CBS News, 5 May 2026
In practices during the week of the game, the team kept drilling a goal-line play that featured Joly as a fullback who would emerge out of the backfield and make a beeline to the flat.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Instead of drilling blindly, mission planners could target locations where ice lies closest to the surface, providing a clearer picture of its depth and distribution.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 May 2026
Open the new unit and mount it on the wall by drilling holes for the screws and anchors included in the package.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2026
Since January 2025, engineers at L3Harris Technologies have been drilling, wiring, and reinforcing.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drilling. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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