spilt

A child spilt a glass of milk on the kitchen table.

Definition

1. Verb (past tense and past participle of spill):

   • To cause or allow liquid to flow over the edge of its container: "spilt" describes liquid that has been accidentally poured out.
   • To cause something to fall from a place: Can refer to people or objects being thrown off, such as from a horse or vehicle.
   • To reveal secret information: In figurative use, "spilt" can mean disclosed or made known unintentionally.

2. Adjective (rare, used attributively):

   • Describing liquid that has been shed: e.g., "spilt milk" is milk that has been accidentally poured out.

Usage Examples

• Verb (past tense):

  • She spilt coffee on her new dress. (She accidentally poured coffee over the dress.)
  • The rider was spilt from the horse during the race. (The rider was thrown off the horse.)
  • He spilt the beans about the surprise party. (He revealed the secret about the party.)

• Adjective:

  • There is no use crying over spilt milk. (A proverb meaning it is pointless to be upset about something that cannot be undone.)

Advanced Usage

• "spilt blood": to cause injury or death.

  • The battle spilt much blood. (The battle caused many casualties.)

• "spilt money": to lose money, especially through gambling or poor investment.

  • He spilt all his savings at the casino. (He lost all his savings gambling.)

Variants and Related Words

• Spill (verb): the base form; to cause liquid to flow out.

  • Please don't spill your drink. (Please do not pour your drink accidentally.)

• Spilling (present participle): the act of causing liquid to flow out.

  • The child is spilling water on the floor. (The child is accidentally pouring water onto the floor.)

• Spillover (noun): the overflow of something from one area to another.

  • The festival caused a spillover of tourists into nearby towns. (Tourists overflowed into surrounding towns.)

Synonyms

• Poured out: caused liquid to flow from a container.

  • She poured out the milk. (She intentionally caused the milk to flow out.)

• Shed: to cause something to fall off or be released.

  • The tree shed its leaves. (The tree dropped its leaves.)

• Revealed: made known (for secrets).

  • He revealed the plan. (He disclosed the plan.)

Related Idioms

• Cry over spilt milk: to be upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed.

  • Stop crying over spilt milk; we can buy a new phone. (Do not be upset about the broken phone; it is too late to change it.)

• Spill the beans: to disclose a secret unintentionally.

  • She spilt the beans about the promotion. (She accidentally revealed the news about the promotion.)

• Spill blood: to cause injury or death.

  • The revolution spilt much blood. (The revolution caused many deaths.)