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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drilling
Daniel Scott, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
The team has already finished the first 180 feet (55 meters) of drilling at the Mont Terri underground rock laboratory in Switzerland, a facility that has hosted nuclear waste disposal experiments for three decades.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Mar. 2026
If the sales go through and drilling eventually commences, large portions of the trail could, in theory, become unusable, forcing a reroute to keep it viable as a recreation setting.
—Alex Heard, Outside, 4 Mar. 2026
Those members have not been deployed yet are still drilling at home station, according to Wilcoxson.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
The smaller guard is drilling 43 percent of his eight 3-point attempts per game and is an absurd shot maker at the point guard position.
—Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Ejiofor got going later in the half, at one point drilling a 3-pointer and finishing an alley-oop dunk — both on assists from Oziyah Sellers — on back-to-back possessions.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Scientists still debate what started that eruption, and whether it was triggered by drilling for natural gas, or by an earthquake.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
Offshore drilling infrastructure and industrial activity threatens access and, with it, our national security and the steady economic engine these bases provide to local communities.
—Shane Weddle, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Verb
Most involve drilling holes into the stump, filling them with the chemical, and then waiting.
—Daniel Scott, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
The team has already finished the first 180 feet (55 meters) of drilling at the Mont Terri underground rock laboratory in Switzerland, a facility that has hosted nuclear waste disposal experiments for three decades.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Mar. 2026
If the sales go through and drilling eventually commences, large portions of the trail could, in theory, become unusable, forcing a reroute to keep it viable as a recreation setting.
—Alex Heard, Outside, 4 Mar. 2026
Those members have not been deployed yet are still drilling at home station, according to Wilcoxson.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
The smaller guard is drilling 43 percent of his eight 3-point attempts per game and is an absurd shot maker at the point guard position.
—Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Ejiofor got going later in the half, at one point drilling a 3-pointer and finishing an alley-oop dunk — both on assists from Oziyah Sellers — on back-to-back possessions.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Scientists still debate what started that eruption, and whether it was triggered by drilling for natural gas, or by an earthquake.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
Offshore drilling infrastructure and industrial activity threatens access and, with it, our national security and the steady economic engine these bases provide to local communities.
—Shane Weddle, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drilling. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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