Drill
Drill noun - An established and often automatic or monotonous series of actions followed when engaging in some activity.
Usage example: shuttling the kids between extracurricular activities is all part of the suburban drill
Pattern and drill are semantically related. in procedure topic. In some cases you can use "Pattern" instead a noun "Drill".
Pattern
Pattern noun - A usual manner of behaving or doing.
Usage example: her daily pattern begins with coffee and a bagel every morning for breakfast
Show all Definitions
Synonyms for Pattern
How words are described
| old | old drill | old pattern |
| normal | normal drill | normal pattern |
| typical | typical drill | typical pattern |
| common | common drill | common pattern |
| Other adjectives: established, standard, circular, hypnotic, simple, great, blue, strict, new, traditional, yellow. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- You face off with a drill bot with a very similar pattern in Marble Garden Zone in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Source: Collapsing Ceiling Boss -
They subvert their own pattern in a later episode, as this fails to work on an Army drill sergeant; he just assigns them to worse duties.
Source: Pity the Kidnapper - They subvert their own pattern in a later episode, as this fails to work on an Army drill sergeant; he just assigns them to worse and worse duties until their pranks result in him getting knocked out cold.
Source: Too Spicy for Yog Sothoth
Cite this Source
Pattern and Drill. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/drill/pattern
Drill & Pattern. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/drill/pattern>.
Pattern or Drill. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/drill/pattern.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "drill" and "pattern" have occurred on timeline