drill down from

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "drill down from" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used in contexts where one is discussing the process of examining or analyzing data or information at a more detailed level, often starting from a broader perspective. Example: "To understand the sales trends, we need to drill down from the overall revenue figures to the individual product categories."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

11 human-written examples

To search, a diner can choose: "red," "white," "rosé," "dessert" or "dry sparkling," then drill down from there.

The New York Times - Food

This information is displayed using multiple time scales, enabling the user to drill down from a high-level application overview to a focus region of hundreds of cycles.

Stanford University

"What I find beautiful in how this opera is structured," he said, "is that we drill down from the larger historical events into the human condition".

The New York Times - Arts

Essentially, local water tool users can input their GWT data to drill down from the global to the local level to examine site-specific risks and opportunities.

The Guardian

A Browse button lets you drill down from a genre (like Blues, Rock or Books & Spoken) to a performer, album and song.

The New York Times - Tech

You can drill down from a broad to a narrower topic to get ideas for a theses topic.

Duke University

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

If the Detail report is accessed by drilling down from the Compliance Summary report, the only way to close the Detail report is to close the tab in which it is displayed.

Stanford University

When we drilled down from the survey findings using qualitative, ethnographic methods, the picture was considerably more complex.

BMC Health Services Research

To do this, fracking companies would have to drill down and sideways from outside protected areas.

The Guardian

"Trying to drill down to shield from ionising radiation might be okay for bacteria, but materials in the core are radiating, too," she warns.

The Guardian

To drill down into Principle #1: From a data-production perspective, activities are like lands waiting to be discovered.

MIT Technology Review

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "drill down from" when you want to emphasize moving from a high-level overview to more granular details. This is particularly useful in data analysis, research, and problem-solving contexts.

Common error

While "drill down from" is appropriate for analytical or technical discussions, it may sound overly formal in casual conversations. Opt for simpler alternatives like "look closer at" or "explore in more detail" to maintain a natural tone.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "drill down from" functions primarily as a prepositional phrase often used in conjunction with a verb. It indicates the action of analyzing data or information by starting at a high level and then progressively examining more granular details. As Ludwig AI confirms, the phrase is grammatically sound and usable in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Academia

30%

Science

30%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "drill down from" is a grammatically correct prepositional phrase that describes a process of detailed analysis, moving from general information to specific details. Ludwig AI validates its usability, and while not extremely common, it appears most frequently in news, academic, and scientific contexts. It's best suited for professional and analytical discussions where a thorough, stepwise investigation is being described. While the phrase has a clear function and is suitable for many contexts, overuse should be avoided in informal writing to avoid sounding stilted.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

delve deeper from

Replaces "drill" with "delve", implying a more thorough investigation but maintains the same starting point.

investigate further from

Substitutes "drill" with "investigate", focusing on a systematic examination from a particular origin.

analyze in detail from

Replaces "drill down" with "analyze in detail", emphasizing the thoroughness of the analysis from a specific place.

examine closely from

Uses "examine closely" instead of "drill down", highlighting the meticulous nature of the inspection starting from somewhere.

explore more deeply from

Employs "explore more deeply" to suggest a comprehensive investigation from a given location.

scrutinize from

Replaces the original phrase to suggest critical observation of something from its origin.

unpack from

Suggests to unfold/deconstruct the details of a particular subject from its initial source.

dissect from

Suggests breaking something down into its component parts from a particular point.

break down from

Suggests separating something in components from a bigger part.

get to the bottom of from

Idiomatic, suggesting finding the root cause starting from a particular situation.

FAQs

What does "drill down from" mean?

The phrase "drill down from" means to examine something in increasing detail, starting from a broader perspective and moving towards more specific aspects.

How can I use "drill down from" in a sentence?

You might say, "To understand customer behavior, we need to "drill down from" overall purchase patterns to individual transactions".

What can I say instead of "drill down from"?

Alternatives include "delve deeper from", "investigate further from", or "analyze in detail from", depending on the specific context.

Is "drill down from" formal or informal?

The phrase "drill down from" is generally considered more formal and is best suited for professional, academic, or technical contexts. In casual conversation, simpler alternatives may be more appropriate.