spill

This word is not only about liquid. You might spill milk on the floor, but you can also spill a secret to a friend. It usually means that something comes out when it should not, whether that is a drink, a box of rice, or private information. If a glass tips over, the drink comes out. If someone spills the beans about a surprise party, the secret comes out. The context shows whether we are talking about a mess or about information.

To spill means to let liquid or some other substance come out of a container by accident, or to reveal information carelessly or by mistake. It is a flexible everyday word with both literal and figurative uses.

Most often, we use spill for a messy accident with liquid: "He spilled coffee on his shirt." But it can also be used for small solid things that can pour or scatter, such as rice, sugar, sand, or grain: "The bag tore and spilled rice all over the floor." As a noun, a spill can mean the accident itself or the liquid or material that came out.

The word also has a common figurative meaning. If you spill a secret, the news, or the truth, you tell something that was supposed to stay hidden. The idiom spill the beans means to give away a secret. For example, "She accidentally spilled the news about her engagement." In casual speech, people may also use it more broadly for sharing a lot all at once, especially when emotions or private thoughts come out.

Whether it is a drink on the table, grain from a torn bag, or a secret told too soon, spill usually carries the idea of something coming out when it was meant to stay contained.