What does silo mean?
A silo is a structure designed to store something safely, most often grain, animal feed, or other bulk agricultural products. It may stand above ground or have underground compartments. In military terminology, a missile silo is a fortified installation that protects missiles and their associated equipment. The word also has a figurative use for a group, department, or activity that functions apart from the wider organization: departments may work in “silos,” isolated from one another and slow to exchange information. As a verb, “to silo” means either to place something in a silo or to separate people or activities into distinct groups. The agricultural meaning is established in British and American English, while the organizational sense is especially common in contemporary business, academic, and institutional writing.
A tall structure, chamber, or enclosed installation used to store grain, bulk materials, or missiles.
"The elevator takes grain from the field to the largest silo on the farm."
The agricultural and industrial senses are standard; “missile silo” is a common military collocation. Figuratively, the noun names a separate group with little interaction with others.
To place or keep something in a silo, or figuratively to separate people, information, or activities into isolated groups.
"The redesign risks siloing the two departments from one another."
The literal sense is less common than the figurative organizational use in modern English.
The regular plural of the noun; it may refer to multiple storage structures, missile installations, or isolated organizational groups.
"The farm has six silos for storing grain."
A silo can store harvests underground and keep missiles out of sight: two very different ideas united by the need to keep something safely contained.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does silo come from?
The English word entered through Spanish silo, a term for a granary or storage pit. Spanish silo ultimately derives from Latin sirus, meaning “pit” or “underground storehouse,” a word associated with Greek siros, also meaning a pit or underground chamber. The modern military sense developed after the word was applied to underground installations housing missiles.
Related word forms
How silo is actually used
The noun is standard in agricultural, industrial, and military contexts. The organizational sense, as in “organizational silos,” is common in business and institutional discussion. As a verb, “silo” can mean either literally storing material or figuratively isolating people, information, or activities.