Synonyms of drills

drills 1 of 3

noun

plural of drill

1

as in routines

an established and often automatic or monotonous series of actions followed when engaging in some activity

shuttling the kids between extracurricular activities is all part of the suburban drill

Synonyms & Similar Words

• routines
• grinds
• ruts
• grooves
• patterns
• techniques
• habits
• rotes
• methods
• treadmills
• practices
• locksteps
• procedures
• strategies
• regimens
• programs
• plans
• traditions
• approaches
• styles
• customs
• tricks
• tacks
• policies
• schemes
• housekeepings
• manners
• daily dozens
• designs
• fashions
• conventions
• ways
• wonts

2

as in exercises

something done over and over in order to develop skill

doing vocabulary drills all afternoon in preparation for the test

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exercises
• practices
• lessons
• workouts
• trainings
• routines
• homeworks
• assignments
• refreshers
• brushups
• reviews

drills

2 of 3

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of drill

1

as in punches

to make a hole or series of holes in

the nerve-jangling sound when a dentist drills a tooth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• punches
• holes
• pierces
• pokes
• bores
• punctures
• taps
• perforates
• riddles
• cuts
• penetrates
• breaks
• splits
• broaches
• pricks
• excavates
• slashes
• grooves
• burrows (into)
• slits
• gouges
• hollows
• ruptures
• notches
• rends
• prickles
• gashes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fills
• plugs
• seals
• patches

2

as in shoots

to strike with a missile from a gun

drilled the target from 100 yards away

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoots
• guns
• pops
• plugs
• drops
• kills
• destroys
• slaughters
• pistols
• slays
• brings down
• blows away
• picks off
• machine-guns
• shoots down
• fires (at)
• peppers
• shotguns
• blazes
• dispatches
• blasts (at)
• massacres
• butchers
• tommy-guns
• wipes out
• potshots
• snipes (at)
• ices
• blots out
• fells
• annihilates
• decimates
• does in
• croaks

drills

3 of 3

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of drill

as in plants

to put or set into the ground to grow

he drills soybeans in the same rows with corn

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plants
• seeds
• puts in
• sows
• beds
• transplants
• broadcasts
• replants
• pots
• scatters
• reseeds
• overseeds

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gathers
• reaps
• harvests

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drills

Noun

Its target is rugged factory work with tools like drills and welders. — New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026

Russian media also reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin observed the drills at the Chebarkul Training Ground on Friday and met foreign military attaches. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026

In practice gear, the 46-year-old Haslem ran with Heat players and battled with Heat frontcourt players in one-on-one post-practice drills. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026

Over the years, concerts, youth basketball, celebrity games, giveaways and community programming gathered around the drills. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

Trump in August scaled back a major military exercise with South Korea in an apparent effort to restart diplomacy with Kim, who has condemned such drills as rehearsals for invasion. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Not all the healthcare facilities invited to participate in the drills agreed to do them—and those facilities that declined may have scored even worse. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026

On Roosevelt Avenue, players can look up at the Chicago skyline while going through drills. — Mike McGraw, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

His warning follows recent military drills by NATO near Kaliningrad that the bloc has described as defensive exercises to strengthen deterrence. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Verb

Fusion hardware drills deeper At the heart of the system is a gyrotron, a specialized vacuum electronic device capable of producing high-power millimeter waves. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026

As his colleagues look on, Brunson, in his desk chair, drills the shot across the room. — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026

Penix tried a similar process in Week 1, going through agility and movement drills to see how his knee reacted. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Fervo drills a pair of wells more than 2 miles deep, including a lateral well that can extend for more than a mile horizontally. — Pippa Stevens, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026

Berrios is sidelined right now by a soft tissue injury but was running pretty well on the side of team drills Monday. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026

Other notes from Panthers-Jaguars practice First-round pick rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling held his own in one-on-one drills as well as team drills in practice on Wednesday. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

The plan was to use the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills to assess systems so Seoul could assume wartime operational control, Yu Ji-hoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, wrote in The Diplomat. — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

The Jets and Buccaneers were in the middle of special teams drills late in practice when Stiggers came to the sideline and briefly lost consciousness. — Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026