"drilling" in the noun sense
1. drilling, boring
the act of drilling
2. boring, drilling, oil production
the act of drilling a hole in the earth in the hope of producing petroleum
"drilling" in the verb sense
1. bore, drill
make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool
"don't drill here, there's a gas pipe"
"drill a hole into the wall"
"drill for oil"
"carpenter bees are boring holes into the wall"
2. drill
train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons
3. drill, exercise, practice, practise
learn by repetition
"We drilled French verbs every day"
"Pianists practice scales"
4. drill
teach by repetition
5. drill
undergo military training or do military exercises
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License