chide
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to rebuke or scold
-
(tr) to goad into action
Other Word Forms
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
Lead author of the research Dr Baptiste Chide told news agency Reuters: "These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration."
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
"Chide him no more, Sire, if it please you," said Lord Darrin.
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
Chide your fancy, therefore, if it offers to grow faint under so slender a trial.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 13 — Religion and Philosophy by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir
She was much attached to Sir James Chide, and had evidently felt pleasure in the expectation of his coming out to join them.
From The Testing of Diana Mallory by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
Sir James Chide was giving tea to a couple of guests at Lytchett Manor.
From The Testing of Diana Mallory by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
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.
