Synonyms of drilled

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pierced
• punched
• holed
• poked
• punctured
• tapped
• perforated
• bored
• riddled
• penetrated
• cut
• excavated
• broached
• pricked
• broke
• grooved
• gouged
• split
• hollowed
• slashed
• slit
• notched
• prickled
• ruptured
• burrowed (into)
• gashed
• rent
• rended

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filled
• sealed
• plugged
• patched

2

as in popped

to strike with a missile from a gun

drilled the target from 100 yards away

Synonyms & Similar Words

• popped
• plugged
• shot
• gunned
• destroyed
• killed
• dropped
• slaughtered
• butchered
• peppered
• brought down
• blazed
• picked off
• massacred
• dispatched
• fired (at)
• blew away
• shot down
• sniped (at)
• blasted (at)
• shotgunned
• felled
• decimated
• wiped out
• annihilated
• pistolled
• iced
• pistoled
• slew
• machine-gunned
• blotted out
• potshot
• croaked
• did in
• tommy-gunned

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• planted
• seeded
• put in
• sowed
• bedded
• replanted
• transplanted
• broadcasted
• scattered
• potted
• broadcast
• reseeded
• overseeded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gathered
• harvested
• reaped

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drilled

Verb

The wells are drilled much longer and more are fracked at once—called simul-frac—so fewer rigs, frac fleets, and people are required. —Jordan Blum, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2025

The rover drilled a sample of it, which researchers called Sapphire Canyon, for an eventual return to Earth. —David W. Brown, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025

Centennial expanded its margin to 10 when senior Justin Driver drilled a 50-yard field goal. —Frank Rajkowski, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025

My husband drilled holes in the lids to fit the net pots. —The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025

The patient’s tooth is pulled and then flattened, and a small hole is then drilled in the center. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025

As a new paper in Nature reports, a sample Perseverance drilled from the rock may contain potential biosignatures of long ago microbial life. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Sep. 2025

Today, geothermal boreholes are drilled with oversized rigs designed for oil and gas projects. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025

My parents drilled this into me. —Kendra MacDonald, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025