Drill (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Drilled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Drilling.] [D. drillen to bore, drill (soldiers); probably akin to AS. pyrlian, pyrelian, to pierce. See Thrill.] 1. To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.
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2. To train in the military art; to exercise diligently, as soldiers, in military evolutions and exercises; hence, to instruct thoroughly in the rudiments of any art or branch of knowledge; to discipline.
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He [Frederic the Great] drilled his people, as he drilled his grenadiers. Macaulay.
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Drill, n. 1. An instrument with an edged or pointed end used for making holes in hard substances; strictly, a tool that cuts with its end, by revolving, as in drilling metals, or by a succession of blows, as in drilling stone; also, a drill press.
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2. (Mil.) The act or exercise of training soldiers in the military art, as in the manual of arms, in the execution of evolutions, and the like; hence, diligent and strict instruction and exercise in the rudiments and methods of any business; a kind or method of military exercises; as, infantry drill; battalion drill; artillery drill.
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3. Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.
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4. (Zoöl.) A marine gastropod, of several species, which kills oysters and other bivalves by drilling holes through the shell. The most destructive kind is Urosalpinx cinerea.
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Bow drill, Breast drill. See under Bow, Breast. -- Cotter drill, or Traverse drill, a machine tool for drilling slots. -- Diamond drill. See under Diamond. -- Drill jig. See under Jig. -- Drill pin, the pin in a lock which enters the hollow stem of the key. -- Drill sergeant (Mil.), a noncommissioned officer whose office it is to instruct soldiers as to their duties, and to train them to military exercises and evolutions. -- Vertical drill, a drill press.
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Drill, v. i. 1. To trickle. [Obs. or R.] Sandys.
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2. To sow in drills.
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Drill (?), n. [Cf. Mandrill.] (Zoöl.) A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).
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