How to pronounce spill
Say it like SPIL. Spill is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce spill. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SPIL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Spill pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SPILSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
American vs British pronunciation of spill
American and British speakers say spill in essentially the same way: /spɪl/ in the US and /spɪl/ in the UK.
British respelling: SPIL.
What does spill mean?
- cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container“spill the milk”“splatter water”
- flow, run or fall out and become lost“The milk spilled across the floor”“The wine spilled onto the table”
- cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over“spill the beans all over the table”
- liquid that is spilled“clean up the spills”
- a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or other obstruction
- the act of allowing a fluid to escape
Where does spill come from?
Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic s
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with spill
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of spill.
Questions about saying spill
How do you pronounce spill?
Say SPIL. The American pronunciation is /spɪl/. In British English it is /spɪl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in spill?
Spill is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SPIL.
Do Americans and Brits say spill the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /spɪl/ and the British form is /spɪl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.