'Drill' in current usage almost always refers to drill music — a hard-edged subgenre of hip-hop that emerged in Chicago around 2012 and developed UK and New York scenes (UK drill, Brooklyn drill). The lyrics frequently reference street violence and rival gang conflict, and the genre has been controversial, including in UK courts. If your teen listens to drill, that is mainstream; if they are involved in making or sharing content that names specific rivals, that warrants a serious conversation. The music itself is widely consumed and not inherently dangerous to listen to.
drill
A hip-hop sub-genre with dark, sparse beats and aggressive, often violent lyrics.
drɪlDocumented since 2010s2010sGen ZtrendingCurrent510 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~2011 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Premier1 is set to drill a largely untouched gold prospect near WA’s Meekatharra, targeting a 400m anomaly with rock chips up to 11.7g/t gold. #business #companies
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Wikipedia: Drill
It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners.
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Wikipedia: Drill music
Drill lyricism is noted for its ominous, confrontational nature, often including references to gang rivalries and various retaliatory incidents, sometimes murder, although the subgenre is thematically broader.
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Wikipedia: Drill
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners.
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Wikipedia: Drill music
Drill music, also known as drill rap or simply drill, is a subgenre of hip-hop music with sonic origins in trap music and lyrical origins in gangsta rap.
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Definitions
US
+678100%
#1·Apr 24, 2026US
A hip-hop sub-genre with dark, sparse beats and aggressive, often violent lyrics. Chicago drill birthed it; UK drill and Brooklyn drill dominated the late 2010s–2020s.
See it in action
“Drill lyricism is noted for its ominous, confrontational nature, often including references to gang rivalries and various retaliatory incidents, sometimes murder, although the subgenre is thematically broader.”
“Drill music, also known as drill rap or simply drill, is a subgenre of hip-hop music with sonic origins in trap music and lyrical origins in gangsta rap.”
"The new drill tape is brutal, in the best way."
Origin: Emerged in Chicago around 2011 with artists like Chief Keef and Lil Durk.
For parents
'Drill' in current usage almost always refers to drill music — a hard-edged subgenre of hip-hop that emerged in Chicago around 2012 and developed UK and New York scenes (UK drill, Brooklyn drill). The lyrics frequently reference street violence and rival gang conflict, and the genre has been controversial, including in UK courts. If your teen listens to drill, that is mainstream; if they are involved in making or sharing content that names specific rivals, that warrants a serious conversation. The music itself is widely consumed and not inherently dangerous to listen to.
For ESL learners
'Drill' refers to a hip-hop subgenre originating in Chicago around 2012, with influential UK and New York Brooklyn scenes. Characterised by dark, sliding 808 basslines, sparse drums and often violent or confrontational lyrics referencing real-world conflict. Register: music journalism, hip-hop discourse. In formal writing use as a music-genre proper noun. A common learner mistake is to confuse it with the standard English noun 'drill' (= a tool, or military exercise); in modern youth speech the music genre is the default meaning.
Heard in the wild
“Premier1 is set to drill a largely untouched gold prospect near WA’s Meekatharra, targeting a 400m anomaly with rock chips up to 11.7g/t gold. #business #companies”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners.”
“Drill lyricism is noted for its ominous, confrontational nature, often including references to gang rivalries and various retaliatory incidents, sometimes murder, although the subgenre is thematically broader.”
“A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners.”
“Drill music, also known as drill rap or simply drill, is a subgenre of hip-hop music with sonic origins in trap music and lyrical origins in gangsta rap.”
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US
#2·Apr 26, 2026US
In schoolyard British English: a problem or trouble. "What's the drill?" = "what's going on?"
"What's the drill, you alright?"
Origin: British English; "drill" as routine/procedure dating to military usage.
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US
#3·Apr 26, 2026US
Construction tool. The rap genre name plays on "drilling" as aggressive/rapid action; the tool sense is older.
"Pass me the drill."
Origin: Standard English; the genre-name etymology builds on this.
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Other words near "drill" (D)
dried fruitdried plumdrieghdriftdrift of the forestdriftwaydrill checkdrill codeddrill coredrill energydrillerdrill god
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Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- drill core71%
An aesthetic category that packages drill music's visual and sonic identity into a recognizable style — dark hoodies, bleak estate photography, minimalist violence, and 808-heavy beats stripped back to pure menace. Drill core is what happens when the culture gets genre-tagged on TikTok and Pinterest: moodboards of grey council blocks, balaclava fits, and late-night corner energy. It's both a genuine subculture and its own Pinterest rabbit hole at this point.
- driller70%
In music slang, a driller is a rapper who operates primarily in the drill genre — someone whose sound is built on ominous trap production, deadpan delivery, and lyrics that reflect the harsh realities of street life in Chicago, South London, or wherever the local scene has taken root. The term can be used admiringly by fans recognising authentic genre dedication, or applied loosely to anyone whose music carries that cold, nihilistic drill energy. At its peak the word describes an artist who isn't performing toughness — they are it, sonically and otherwise.
- drill coded68%
Something or someone that radiates the raw, unfiltered energy of drill music without ever saying a word about it — the aesthetic just screams sliding 808s and dead-eyed stare-downs. A drill-coded person moves quiet, dresses in dark layers, never over-explains themselves, and looks like they've seen some things. It's not about actually listening to drill; it's about embodying that ice-cold, unbothered frequency in your whole vibe.
- trap67%
A genre of hip-hop music, with half-time drums and heavy sub-bass.