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• chile
  chile

  noun

  the pod of any of several species of Capsicum, especially C. annuum longum: used in cooking for its pungent flavor.
• Chile
  Chile

  noun

  a republic in southwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast. 286,396 square miles (741,765 square kilometers). Santiago.

chile

¹ American  

[chil-ee] / ˈtʃɪl i /

noun

1. Also called chile pepper,.  Also called chili pepper.  the pod of any of several species of Capsicum, especially C. annuum longum: used in cooking for its pungent flavor.

2. chili.

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chile ² American  

[chahyl] / tʃaɪl /

noun

1. a phonetic spelling of child, representing dialectal speech of the Southern United States or African American Vernacular English.

   Oh, chile, you do not want to test me!

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Chile ³ American  

[chil-ee, chee-le] / ˈtʃɪl i, ˈtʃi lɛ /

noun

1. a republic in southwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast. 286,396 square miles (741,765 square kilometers). Santiago.

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Chile ¹ British  

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

1. a republic in South America, on the Pacific, with a total length of about 4090 km (2650 miles) and an average width of only 177 km (110 miles): gained independence from Spain in 1818; the government of President Allende (elected 1970) attempted the implementation of Marxist policies within a democratic system until overthrown by a military coup (1973); democracy restored 1988. Chile consists chiefly of the Andes in the east, the Atacama Desert in the north, a central fertile region, and a huge S region of almost uninhabitable mountains, glaciers, fjords, and islands; an important producer of copper, iron ore, nitrates, etc. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Santiago. Pop: 17 216 945 (2013 est). Area: 756 945 sq km (292 256 sq miles)

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chile ² British  

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of chilli

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Chile Cultural  

1. Republic in southern South America on the western slope of the Andes. Chile is a long, narrow strip of land bordered by Peru to the north, Bolivia and Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Santiago.

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Discover More

Pinochet suppressed human rights and political activity until he lost a plebiscite in 1988. A successor was chosen in free elections. In 1998, Pinochet was arrested in Great Britain on a Spanish warrant, but a court ruled him too ill to stand trial. He returned to Chile, where attempts to prosecute him continued.

In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet led a coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende, a Marxist.

Other Word Forms

• Chilean
  adjective
• pseudo-Chilean
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of chile¹

First recorded in 1855–60; variant spelling of chili ( def. )

Origin of chile²

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Two of the vessel's hantavirus victims -- a married Dutch couple -- had traveled extensively in Argentina for four months, with forays into Chile and Uruguay.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

Only about 100 to 200 cases of Andes hantavirus crop up in humans a year, largely in Argentina and Chile.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Tanner points out that Walter Rauff, another wanted Nazi war criminal who fled to Chile, spent time in Germany in 1960.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

The first U.S. case of Andes virus actually occurred in January 2018, in a woman who had stayed in cabins and youth hostels in the Andes region of Argentina and Chile.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

He withstood horrible seasickness, weathered harsh conditions, witnessed a battle in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, and experienced an earthquake in Valdivia, Chile.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman