drills

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of drill.

   Two cordless drills sat on the bench beside a box of bits.

   Firefighters practice evacuation drills until every step becomes automatic.

   Note

   One spelling serves every countable meaning of the noun: power tools on a bench, fire and military exercises, sports training routines, even the shell-boring snails called oyster drills. The music genre is the exception. As a style name it is uncountable and takes no plural. The same letters also spell the present-tense verb, as in she drills a hole, so the sentence around it decides which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of drill.

   The carpenter drills pilot holes so the wood does not split.

   Their music teacher drills the scales until the students play them flawlessly.

   Note

   A verb form that works in two kinds of sentence. With an object, someone drills a hole or drills a squad of recruits. Without one, the platoon simply drills, practicing on its own. Both patterns are natural, so the trainer and the trainees can each take the verb. It also stretches further: an analyst drills into the data, and a striker drills the ball into the net with real power.

   The sergeant drills the new recruits every morning.

   The platoon drills at dawn before breakfast.

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