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.
He suggested it had material useful to Iran’s war effort and seemed to chide China’s leader, Xi Jinping.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
Human beings as a whole do not employ the same ethics a responsible newspaper does — though today many of us chide the press solely when the news is unfavorable to our own personal prejudices.
From Salon • Feb. 6, 2026
I was muted so much, athletes would chide me by pushing an imaginary button when I asked a question.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025
“I’m sure once Christmastime rolls around, we’ll kind of chide him a little bit,” Karras joked.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 9, 2023
One girl even dropped a beautiful knit scarf on the floor, but her mother didn't chide her like my mother was chiding me.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
