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Glite Dictionary
to drill (someone)

to drill (someone)

3.9
Make someone practice a skill again and again to improve it
  • phrasal verb
  • /drɪl/
translation icon : entrenar
  • The coach decided to drill the team on their defensive plays every afternoon.

Examples

  • The language tutor regularly drilled us on our pronunciation skills.

  • She would drill her students with difficult math problems before exams.

  • The coach decided to drill the team on their defensive plays every afternoon.

  • She would drill her students with difficult math problems before exams.

  • The language tutor regularly drilled us on our pronunciation skills.

Synonyms

to train
vsto drill (someone)
∞ 1.0

To teach someone skills by practice and help

focuses on intense repeated practice to improve a skill

How Repetitive

to drill (someone)
3.9
to practice
  • US
697 1.0
exercise
171 2.1
to train
∞ 1.0
to teach
∞ 1.0
to show
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

drill (someone) infinitive
drilled (someone) past
drilled (someone) past participle
drilling (someone) present participle
drills (someone) third person singular

Morphology

drill + (someone)

The base verb 'drill' is defined as 'to train by repeated exercises', so the transitive pattern 'drill someone' is a direct, compositional use meaning 'to make someone practice intensively'. This literal, predictable mapping follows normal verb + object syntax and is therefore immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the verb.

Etymology

Drill (someone) comes from army training, where soldiers repeated the same moves and commands again and again. That's why to drill someone today means to make them 'practice' something a lot until they get it right.