drilled 1 of 2

verb (1)

past tense of drill
1
as in pierced
to make a hole or series of holes in the nerve-jangling sound when a dentist drills a tooth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in popped
to strike with a missile from a gun drilled the target from 100 yards away

Synonyms & Similar Words

drilled

2 of 2

verb (2)

past tense of drill
as in planted
to put or set into the ground to grow he drills soybeans in the same rows with corn

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drilled
Verb
Rauf drilled debutant fast bowler Henry Crocombe for a straight boundary to cap a remarkable recovery for Pakistan. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 Four plays later, Malik Orsan drilled a walk-off 48-yard field goal as time expired, and the South Carolina faithful stormed the field. — Ryan Morik Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 On Wednesday night’s opening possession, Randle sized up Charlotte Hornets forward Naz Reid, took two dribbles to his left, then drilled a turnaround jumper from the free-throw line. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026 Just two years ago, in 2024, Schmidt and the Trades Council were on opposite sides of a different ballot measure proposal — one over an oil industry effort to repeal a law banning oil and gas wells from being drilled too close to parks and schools. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Week 2 required overtime, as Harrison Butker drilled a 40-yard field goal on the final play to beat the Indianapolis Colts 33-30. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026 The family has seemingly drilled a hole directly into the middle of their kitchen island to accommodate the charging cable, for one. — Allison Johnson, The Verge, 13 Oct. 2026 Santos and others had drilled with limited results but couldn’t replicate the American formula. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026 Corsair drilled the inner portion of its 200mm fan frames to screw directly onto the rails when they are set at their 140mm position. — Thomas Soderstrom, PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drilled
  1. pierced
  2. popped
  3. planted
  4. punched
  5. plugged
  6. seeded
  7. poked
  8. shot
Verb
  • Cook for 20 minutes, or until the squash falls apart when pierced with a fork.
    — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The exhibition layout, conceived by French designer Pascal Rodriguez, unfolds across four successive spaces, separated by partition walls pierced by large circular openings at their centers.
    — Sarah Belmont for ArtNews, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of pierced
Verb
  • Many of these 13 tracks have popped up as demos in Jensen’s live shows or NTS sets, cooking down to their essence in plain sight.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Omnicom — Shares popped almost 2% after the marketing and sales company posted third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations.
    — Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of popped
Verb
  • In addition to finding recording devices similar to the ones planted in OpenAI offices, the FBI allegedly found evidence that Alfozan had planted at least one other bug.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Trees were planted directly into the ground in the gravel patio area, and climbing vines were planted with future shade in mind.
    — Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of planted
Verb
  • The 25-year-old who was punched refused medical attention at the scene.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Rays punched their ticket to baseball’s biggest stage with a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, taking the best-of-seven series four games to two.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of punched
Verb
  • Each console was tested in the device's performance mode while plugged directly into power, with the only difference being the resolution.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The roommate then plugged the camera in and saw several videos of Long inside the bedroom testing out the device, according to the report.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of plugged
Verb
  • Among those cosmic relics are raw organic building blocks, the kind that may have seeded life on Earth.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The strength-of-record-based format could favor 7A and 6A south Georgia teams more than the GHSA’s prior system, which seeded the top four finishers in every region.
    — Jack Leo, AJC.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of seeded
Verb
  • Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Already poked, the league bear hasn’t exactly gone into hibernation, either.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • For the game, the Heat shot a poor 14 of 25 (56%) from the foul line on Monday.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In the spirit of B-movie icons like Roger Corman, the film was shot in four days for $40,000 in order to celebrate Chris LaMartina’s 40th birthday.
    — William Earl, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of shot

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Cite this Entry

“Drilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drilled. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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