Illustration of silo
- silo 1
plural silos
1
: a trench, pit, or especially a tall cylinder (as of wood or concrete) usually sealed to exclude air and used for making and storing silage
2
a
: a deep bin for storing material (such as coal)
b
: an underground structure for housing a guided missile
These are weapons that can hit military targets, such as missile silos and headquarters, swiftly and accurately …—
Leslie H. Gelb
Leslie H. Gelb3
: an isolated grouping, department, etc., that functions apart from others especially in a way seen as hindering communication and cooperation
Big, complex companies are typically structured so that decision making is separated according to function, geography and product. That naturally creates silos.—John H. Howard
John H. HowardExamples of silos in blue-chip firms abound: Sony once had two separate divisions working on creating the same electrical plug without anyone realizing it.—Rana Foroohar
Rana ForooharTo break down silos individual officials need a stronger sense of belonging to a bigger whole, with norms and expectations spanning all departments and agencies.—David Walker
David WalkerMoorhouse came to the paper determined to break down its "silos"—MBA-speak for self-contained departments that don't have anything to do with other departments in a business.—Mark Fitzgerald
Mark Fitzgerald
siloed; siloing; siloes
1
: to place or store (material, such as grain) in a silo
2
: to isolate (someone or something, such as a grouping or department) in a way that hinders communication and cooperation with others : to place (someone or something) in an isolated silo (see silo entry 1 sense 3)
One step banks can take to balance efforts, [Emmett] Higdon suggested, is to stop siloing mobile and online banking development efforts and channels.—Nathan DiCamillo
Nathan DiCamilloExamples of silo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
There’s Juliette’s story, and then there’s back in her home silo, Silo 18, with Bernard (Tim Robbins) and Simms (Common) and her friends down in Mechanical — Knox and Shirley and Walker.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 4 Nov. 2024
Eric Fuller, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Then there’s the fact that platforms like TikTok tend to silo users based on interests.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for silo 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Almanac was born to break down the silos, both literally and figuratively.
—Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
There’s Juliette’s story, and then there’s back in her home silo, Silo 18, with Bernard (Tim Robbins) and Simms (Common) and her friends down in Mechanical — Knox and Shirley and Walker.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
One of the most interesting choices made by Lisa and Ben was to silo the data gathered from customers at the organizer level.
—Eric Fuller, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Then there’s the fact that platforms like TikTok tend to silo users based on interests.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for silo
Dictionary Entries Near silo
Cite this Entry
“Silo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silo. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
silo
noun
si·lo
ˈsī-lō 
plural silos
1
: a trench, pit, or especially a tall cylinder (as of wood or concrete) used for making and storing silage
2
: an underground structure for housing a missile
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share