Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - spill

~1 past tense and past participle spilt, especially BrE spilled especially AmE v 1 if you spill a liquid or if it spills, it accidentally flows over the edge of a container  (spill sth down/on/over)  (Oh no! I've spilt coffee all down my shirt!) + on/over  (He slipped and the wine spilled all over the carpet.) 2 if people spill out of somewhere, they move out in large groups + out/into/onto etc  (Crowds from the theatre were spilling onto the street.) 3 spill the beans informal to tell something that someone else wanted you to keep a secret 4 spill your guts AmE to tell someone everything you know about something, especially because you are upset  (some drunk spilling his guts to me at the bar) 5 spill blood literary to kill or wound people  (- see also cry over spilt milk cry1 (5)) spill over phr v if a problem or bad situation spills over, it spreads and begins to affect other places, people etc + into  (There is a danger that the conflict will spill over into neighbouring towns.) ~2 n 1 an act of spilling something or an amount of something that is spilled  (oil spill)  (The oil spill in Alaska threatens ecological catastrophe.) 2 a piece of wood or twisted paper for lighting lamps, fires etc 3 old-fashioned a fall from a horse, bicycle etc