- the bulb of the sea squill, formerly used medicinally as an expectorant after being sliced and dried
- any Old World liliaceous plant of the genus Scilla, such as S. verna (spring squill) of Europe, having small blue or purple flowers
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
squill (skwil),USA pronunciation
n.
squill′-like′, adj.
- Plant Biologythe bulb of the sea onion, Urginea maritima, of the lily family, cut into thin slices and dried, and used in medicine chiefly as an expectorant.
- Plant Biologythe plant itself.
- Plant Biologyany related plant of the genus Scilla.
- Greek skílla
- Latin squilla, variant of scilla
- Middle English 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
squill /skwɪl/ n
'squill' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
scilla
- bufadienolide
- cardiac glycoside
- red squill
- scillism
- sea onion
- sea squill
- Siberian squill
- squilla