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
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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
-
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
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
Haley herself makes a similar argument, such as one jab to chide Trump for refusing to debate her.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
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
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
He pleads with Tami to see the new Marvel movie, and whenever anyone begins to talk about it, he chides them for spoilers instead of engaging in conversation.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
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
She grows increasingly obsessed with the missing girl, and then with Cleo, who chides Maddie, perhaps from the grave, for missing the big picture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2024
He’s a fighter, a practical voice chides me.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Elvis Presley's iconic Graceland mansion will stay in the family after the death of his only chid, Lisa Marie Presley.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2023
Fed up and enraged, the king angrily chid, “Wear your armor all day, like the dasypodid!”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2022
“Your just a big chid an won’t let me have a life!”
From The Guardian ● Oct. 31, 2019
“My refusing to eat Flesh occasioned an Inconveniency,” Franklin later recalled, “and I was frequently chid for my singularity.”
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2014
“But, Hilda, thou wert baptized with thy father,” chid Egwina.
From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Madison, Lucy Foster
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
There’s Charles Foster Kane, an extremely rich, crusading newspaper owner who is chided by a friend for losing more than a million dollars a year.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2026
After a moment my head cleared and I chided myself for my foolishness.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
Thomas, who had sat by, flushed and silent since I had chidden him for blubbering, picked up the torn jacket I had stripped from Ellen's shoulders, and disappeared behind the tree.
From Donald McElroy, Scotch Irishman by Caldwell, Willie Walker
She was gravely chidden for touching these in wonder, and then she saw other shapes, resembling San Donato, passing rank behind rank in the clouds.
From Stories by American Authors, Volume 7 by Various
During childhood, indulged, in every wish; admired where she should have been chidden, caressed where she should have been corrected; coaxed into pettishness, and spoilt into tyranny.
From The Wanderer (Volume 3 of 5) or, Female Difficulties by Burney, Fanny
So I dropped my work, and sat silent as a chidden child, a little sorry, a little afraid, and beneath all some hot anger at whatever influence prompted the ill-boding expression.
From All the Days of My Life: An Autobiography The Red Leaves of a Human Heart by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
Gallrein ended by chiding reporters: “Be fair and balanced, can we do that?”
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
We still play cards and games together while chiding each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 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
Gigi now starts each video chiding commentators who accuse her of being AI.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
He couldn’t help chiding himself—it’d been a stupid idea.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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.
