drill

1. To make a hole in bone or other hard substance. 2. An instrument for making or enlarging a hole in bone or in a tooth. [Middle Dutch drillen, to bore]

- bur d. bur.

- dental d. a rotary power-driven instrument into which cutting points may be inserted. SEE ALSO: handpiece.

* * *

drill 'dril vt to make a hole in with a drill <the dentist \drilled the tooth for a filling> vi to make a hole with a drill <painless dental \drilling>

drill n an instrument with an edged or pointed end for making holes in hard substances (as bones or teeth) by revolving

* * *

n.

(in dentistry) a rotary instrument used to remove tooth substance, particularly in the treatment of caries. It consists of a handpiece that takes variously shaped bur. Most drilling is done with an air-driven turbine handpiece, but some is performed with a much slower mechanically driven handpiece. Drills usually have a waterspray coolant and may have a fibre-optic light.

* * *

(dril) [Ger. drillen] 1. a rotating cutting instrument for making holes in hard substances, such as bones or teeth. 2. bur (def. 1). 3. to bore or scoop out with such an instrument.