silo

6 definitions • 8 examples

a large, round tower on a farm for storing grain or winter food for cattle:

The red barn is flanked by grain silos.

They built stone silos for corn and beans.

a large underground place for storing and firing missiles (= flying weapons):

The missiles are held in an underground silo.

The missile silos under construction here leave little doubt that the program is well under way.

a part of a company, organization, or system that does not communicate with, understand, or work well with other parts:

We found that a lot of people work in silos - they don't see the connections between what they do and how another part of the airline operates.

the silo mentality that keeps different parts of the healthcare industry from working together

to separate something or someone from other things or people:

The goal is to level the barriers created when an organization's data is siloed.

The study of the Web has been siloed into certain areas.

a large structure, usually cylindrical, used for storing grain or winter food for farm animals

A silo is also an underground structure for storing and firing missiles (= flying weapons).