chide
Americanverb (used with object)
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chides,
present (3rd person singular)
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chided,
past participle, past
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chid,
past participle, past
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chidden,
past participle
-
chiding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
chides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chided,
past participle, past
-
chid,
past participle, past
-
chidden,
past participle
-
chiding
present participle
verb
-
to rebuke or scold
-
(tr) to goad into action
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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chidernoun
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outchideverb (used with object)
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unchidadjective
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unchiddenadjective
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unchidedadjective
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unchidingadjective
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chidinglyadverb
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unchidinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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chidesimple
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chidessimple
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have chidperfect
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have chiddenperfect
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have chidedperfect
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has chidperfect
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has chiddenperfect
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has chidedperfect
-
am chidingprogressive
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are chidingprogressive
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is chidingprogressive
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have been chidingperfect progressive
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has been chidingperfect progressive
Past
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chidsimple
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chidedsimple
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had chidperfect
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had chiddenperfect
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had chidedperfect
-
was chidingprogressive
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were chidingprogressive
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had been chidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chide
before 1000; Middle English chiden, Old English cīdan
Explanation
To chide someone is to ride them or get on their case, without really getting in their face. People have been nagging since well before the 12th century, when the word chide came along as a new way to say "complain" or "rail." If you want to remind someone of a flaw they have or an error they keep repeating, you might chide them with sarcasm, humor, or some seriousness. Where a sharp elbow in the ribs lets you know "Stop it, right now!," a chide is more like a gentle elbow in the belly, saying "Come on, you're late; did you forget your watch again?"
Vocabulary lists containing chide
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He never missed an opportunity to chide his colleagues for their failure to apply their own precedents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
But these days, he’s been attacking Pope Leo XIV, even going so far as to chide the pontiff to “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
It’s time to identify trends, recognize teams that greatly improved and chide those who stood pat or took a step backward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025
While they often chide guests for not owning Apple—or enough Apple—they never blame anyone for shunning Nvidia.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2024
It’s just a stupid shirt, I chide myself.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Epstein advises him on the sale of his healthcare business, and chides him for not being careful enough in checking out the background of a new contact.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
Much of the lesson is taken up by long, hard-hitting rallies between the two of them, interspersed with Sell’s chides and words of encouragement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2024
On the doo-wop-influenced “Somebody Knew,” he chides himself for the foolish choices that led to a lost love.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
He harshly chides her for her lips and her looks:
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2023
“Oh Eugenia,” Mother chides and pats my hand.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Ministers have said the policy, which could be worth as much as £20 a week per chid, was unaffordable and always time-limited.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2024
Fed up and enraged, the king angrily chid, “Wear your armor all day, like the dasypodid!”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2022
Bell’s current list of charities covers a staggering amount of ground: animal rights, prostate cancer, stem cell donation, Alzheimer’s disease, international child hunger, domestic chid poverty and young mothers raised in foster care.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2018
“My refusing to eat Flesh occasioned an Inconveniency,” Franklin later recalled, “and I was frequently chid for my singularity.”
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2014
And then again I shall be chid for being too free with my fellowship.—What a world of names is here!
From Rob of the Bowl, Vol. I (of 2) A Legend of St. Inigoe's by John P. Kennedy
Another oncologist chided the FDA for failing to establish a precise benchmark for determining what constitutes a benefit of “large magnitude.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
In the first week of trial, she chided Musk for recent posts to his social media platform X, in which he spoke disparagingly of OpenAI and Sam Altman, whom he referred to as "Scam Altman".
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
We all make mistakes, but few of us are chided by the president of the United States or summoned to testify before a congressional committee as a result.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
He started reading the Harry Potter books on top of his historical biographies and conservative magazines, and chided me for acting like I was too cool for Hogwarts.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
“You’re worse than a little mother,” the woman chided, but her eyes were softer than usual.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
Helen Burns asked some slight question about her work of Miss Smith, was chidden for the triviality of the inquiry, returned to her place, and smiled at me as she again went by.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
I could no more hold his eyes than I could have held those of a chidden dog.
From In Accordance with the Evidence by Oliver [pseud.] Onions
Yesterday Bertram would have chidden Ali gently, and explained that kind hearts are more than coronets and gentle words than cruel whips.
From Cupid in Africa by P. C. Wren
Pocket had never touched his tea; he was very gently chidden for that.
From The Camera Fiend by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
Ingratitude must be gently chidden, for it goes ill with beauty--as a mother gently chides a well-beloved one.
From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Lewis Wingfield
Cardinals fans began chiding themselves for ever believing Walker had changed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The characters were pricklier and more restless than I remembered, and Alcott’s voice—good-natured but chiding, unsentimental—was a revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
One recent, pointed example drew on a speech from 2000, chiding people who lecture others but fail to preach by example.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
Osment can be heard in the police footage chiding an officer from the back of a patrol car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
Wish Mother would stop chiding me to stay calm, which makes it worse.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
