drill down

verb

drilled down; drilling down; drills down

transitive + intransitive

: to thoroughly consider or analyze : examine
If you drill down into his platform, it's mostly the same stuff Democrats support, but more of it …Jonathan Chait
Although drilling down into all of the complications of the 2007 to 2009 economic and financial crisis is a task requiring more verbosity than a column permits, a quick rundown for context is worthwhile.M. Ray Perryman
But we don't have much data that drills down on the voting preferences of people in specific jobs, to distinguish between, say, dishwashers and factory workers.Irv Randolph
Matches are based on a lengthy questionnaire that drills down the specifics of your dating preferences and personality.Dorothy Pitti

Examples of drill down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The full moon on May 12 is a time to take these sparkly new dreams and drill down into the smaller and less glamorous details. Nina Kahn, StyleCaster, 28 Apr. 2025 In the series, Corgan drills down on the history of legendary rockers Kiss with bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons while Sharon Osbourne illuminates the fascinating differences between the music business and the music industry. Jim Ryan, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025 The event on Monday night drilled down into a later stage of the entertainment production pipeline that is also currently in crisis: scoring and postproduction. Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2025 As multiple journalists sought to drill down on her answers, Leavitt, at times exasperated, moved on to other reporters. Brett Samuels, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for drill down

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drill down was in 1996

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Cite this Entry

“Drill down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drill%20down. Accessed 10 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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