Meaning & use
undrilled
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Not yet having had holes made in it by a drill, such as a panel, tooth or oil site.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: an undrilled board.
Patterns
- an undrilled board
- remain undrilled
The metal plate arrived undrilled, so we marked the holes ourselves.
The dentist found one undrilled cavity.
Geologists left the field undrilled for years.
adjectivenot comparablerare
Not trained or practiced through repeated exercises, especially of troops or students.
Grammar: A rarer, older sense, used about people who lack practice.
Patterns
- undrilled troops
- undrilled students
The undrilled recruits panicked at the first order.
Undrilled students struggled in the oral exam.
An undrilled team often looks uncoordinated.
Common combinations
- undrilled holes
- Undrilled holes must be marked before assembly.
- undrilled panel
- The undrilled panel was cheaper.
- undrilled troops
- Undrilled troops are not ready for combat.
- remain undrilled
- The site remained undrilled.
Synonyms and how they differ
- untrained
- It is more general and covers any lack of training, not specifically exercises.
- unpracticed
- It means lacking practice, a milder word than undrilled.
- solid
- Solid describes an object with no holes but does not suggest drilling could be done.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: undrilled or undrilled?
undrilled vs undrilled
Do not mix with 'unskilled', which only means lacking skill.
Practice
The carpenter noticed that the shelf was ______, so he had to drill the holes himself.
Choose one answer.
Undrilled means no holes have been made yet, which is why he had to drill them.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “undrilled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.