spill
part of speech
verb (spill, spills, spilled or spilt, spilling); noun (a spill, spills)
meaning for a pupil
1) To spill means to let a liquid or small pieces fall out of a container by accident. tree →
2) A spill is liquid or stuff that has been spilled. tree →
3) To spill also means to come out over the edge: «crowds spilled into the street». tree →
4) «Spill the beans» means to tell a secret. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and safety, wipe up spills at once so nobody slips, and spilled hot drinks can burn. In science, chemical spills and oil spills harm animals and the environment. In stories, «spill the beans» means tell. Phrases: spill something on, wipe up a spill, oil spill, spill the beans, don't cry over spilt milk.
examples
- Oops, I spilled my juice on the table! tree →
- Wipe up that spill before someone slips. tree →
- Carry your cup carefully so it doesn't spill. tree →
- Hot tea spilled on his hand and burned him. tree →
- The oil spill hurt many seabirds. tree →
- Rice spilled all over the floor. tree →
- Come on, spill the beans, who is it? tree →
- Don't cry over spilt milk. tree →
- The water was all spilled upon the ground. tree →
note
Past: spilled (common in the USA) or spilt (common in the UK); both are fine. Spill is for liquids or small bits; for one big thing falling, say «drop». Tell an adult about spills of cleaning products or medicine; do not touch them.
In the corpora
- Watercolour can sometimes be lifted with a tissue, and spills can be turned into clouds or water.
- Spills on the floor should be wiped up at once, because wet floors cause slips and falls.
- Ants come into kitchens for food, so you clean up crumbs and sticky spills.
- Wipe up spills at once or tell someone, because wet or greasy floors make people slip.
- A boy in Leeds left a spill of oil on the kitchen floor; his mum slipped carrying a pot and burnt her leg.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «spill» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.