drill down

present singular third person drills down · participle present drilling down · participle past drilled down · past drilled down

1. intransitiveliterallyTo examine something on a more detailed level.

   The issue can be drilled down to a simple yes or no.

2. idiomaticcomputingTo examine information at another level or in greater detail; especially in a database, to navigate to a more detailed level or record.

   From the employee list, you can drill down to find addresses and pay history.

3. idiomaticcomputingTo replace data with more specific data.

   Clicking here lets you replace the annual sales data with monthly data, drilling down to help you track revenue.

4. intransitivehobbiesTo practice maneuvers in order to memorize them; to drill thoroughly (to practice).

   We've drilled down on guarding players with his skillset.

   Synonyms: get down to bedrock, get down to brass tacks

5. transitiveball gamesTo score points; to do well in a basketball game.

   They drilled down three pointers throughout the second half.

plural drill downs

1. an internal competition used to practice marching commands, in which the last person caught improperly executing a command wins

   We knew someone had lost when the last two people in the drill down ended up facing each other.