DRILLS Synonyms: 121 Similar and Opposite Words

drills 1 of 3

noun

plural of drill

as in routines

an established and often automatic or monotonous series of actions followed when engaging in some activity shuttling the kids between extracurricular activities is all part of the suburban drill

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Relevance

as in exercises

something done over and over in order to develop skill doing vocabulary drills all afternoon in preparation for the test

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drills

2 of 3

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of drill

as in punches

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

as in shoots

to strike with a missile from a gun drilled the target from 100 yards away

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drills

3 of 3

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of drill

as in plants

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 drills

Noun

But hardening schools and practicing lockdown drills, among other steps to reduce school shootings, are not making young people feel safer. — Nina Vinik, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026 The deployment is Liaoning’s second round of drills in the western Pacific this year. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026 Yandex has run drills for an accident that could incapacitate one of its six data centers, but it was caught unprepared when its three key facilities were hit over four days. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026 When the Falcons’ linebackers went through drills, Daniels was first in line. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 22 Oct. 2026 At practice, veterans teach rookies the plays and run them through drills. — Daniel Wilkerson, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 The drills include amphibious landing, air and missile defense and mine sweeping, as well as intelligence gathering, logistics and resupply and casualty evacuation on several remote islands, including Tanegashima. — Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 Rice did not practice, but he was spotted in gym clothes running and watching his fellow receivers during individual drills. — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026 Schools already rehearse fire drills and lockdown drills for dangers that are statistically rare. — Meng Yang, Time, 18 Oct. 2026

Verb

Ramiro Benavides, director of a middle school mariachi in the district, drills his students not only on how to play their instruments and sing, but also on how to bring a theatrical and dramatic flair to their performances. — Jessica Hill, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Dewan is also filming The Rookie, so things are getting challenging as Val drills her on the technique — even on set between takes. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026 Fusion hardware drills deeper At the heart of the system is a gyrotron, a specialized vacuum electronic device capable of producing high-power millimeter waves. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026 As his colleagues look on, Brunson, in his desk chair, drills the shot across the room. — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026 Penix tried a similar process in Week 1, going through agility and movement drills to see how his knee reacted. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 23 Sep. 2026 Fervo drills a pair of wells more than 2 miles deep, including a lateral well that can extend for more than a mile horizontally. — Pippa Stevens, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026 Berrios is sidelined right now by a soft tissue injury but was running pretty well on the side of team drills Monday. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026 Other notes from Panthers-Jaguars practice First-round pick rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling held his own in one-on-one drills as well as team drills in practice on Wednesday. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drills

Noun

The Sun enters your 6th House, beginning a month focused on routines, responsibilities, health, work, and the systems that keep everything moving.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 23 Oct. 2026
Wearables like the Apple Watch, Oura Ring and Fitbit have fed the behavior by letting users experiment with their routines and measure what works.

— Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of routines

Noun

Those teaching sessions included a five-sided rubber ball that Sweeney had to bounce and catch, and some unorthodox exercises.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
Advertisement The architects of New Stanford might’ve avoided all of the above and still meaningfully included women by running parallel exercises in separate pods.

— Judy Berman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of exercises

Verb

There’s a level of seriousness that belies the 90-minute comedy film he’s made, which features an imbecilic white rapper who speaks in Caribbean-British slang and a contraption that shoots bullets out of one’s rear end.

— Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
The episode ends with Lee running for his life while McCann shoots into the darkness of the treeline.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shoots

Verb

Once Mooney plants the seed of his joke about how unhappy white Americans seemed after slavery the later images of Confederate memorial groups and white crowds at lynchings take on a surreal resonance.

— Beandrea July, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Mungiu craftily plants the seed of this crisis in his opening shot, set in the aftermath of a stinging act of parental discipline.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of plants

Noun

Tableside dishes are a highlight, including a seasonal classic Greek salad and mouthwatering whole branzino baked in a coffee-grinds and sea-salt crust, then expertly deboned and served to perfection.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
In a measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, chives, dill and garlic powder; season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper.

— Emily Weinstein, Twin Cities, 4 June 2026

Definition of grinds

Noun

Others are trying to drive employees toward what are called Centers of Excellence—essentially hospitals or medical practices with high ratings that may save money in the long-term since employees won’t need to return again and again for care.

— Alana Semuels, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
The Justice Department moved to terminate more than a dozen decades-old school desegregation cases without asking the court first to review whether the district successfully ended its past discriminatory practices, a watchdog group has found.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of practices

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drillmasters

drills

drink

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

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Synonyms of drills

noun

verb (1)

verb (2)

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