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.
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.
First recorded in 1855–60; variant spelling of chili ( def. )
First recorded in 1860–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Chasing green chile cheeseburgers through New Mexico is sport for food obsessives.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
He honed his craft during the pandemic, developing flavors like red mole topped with sesame, and a Mexican everything spice blend that includes garlic, onion, toasted cumin and ancho chile with a hint of lime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
F&F’s tender, pillowy pies come in variations like hot sausage and brown-butter sage, and a clam pizza with fresh lemon and red chile flakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
The samosas themselves are filled with paneer cheese and chunks of pumpkin that’s seasoned with garam masala, cumin, coriander, chile powder, and fennel seeds and encased in a flaky pastry.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2025
But she whispered, “Chile, chile, chile. That’s just the thing that we can do...that’s just it.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
"Chile needs to grow and this bill makes it possible," Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said after the chamber approved the reforms in the wee hours of Thursday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
Norway, Chile and Australia and that the company is forging ahead with plants and assembly partners in Europe and the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The next day, a team from Chile, utilizing radar and sonar sound-detection equipment, confirmed the presence of Gil, still alive, in the sub-basement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
The other came in 1962, when Brazil's Garrincha was sent off against Chile in the semi-final, but played in the victory over Czechoslovakia in the final.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Although it is being pulled by four horses instead of the usual six, this is a New Hampshire-built Concord stagecoach, somewhere in Chile at about the time that Phineas Gage arrived there.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
