chide
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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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
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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
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chidedsimple
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had chidperfect
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had chiddenperfect
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had chidedperfect
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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
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
It’s time to identify trends, recognize teams that greatly improved and chide those who stood pat or took a step backward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 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
Don’t you chide me with not caring about the boy.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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
She arrives before he does, and when he opens the door to meet him, she chides his behavior.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2024
“Jesus belongs to the Herdmans just as much as anyone else,” she chides her daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024
Contemplating escaping Rome, she talks of buying an island; Marcello chides her: “Your problem is you have too much money.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
There's no point in worrying about things you can't change, Gram’s voice chides, and you can't change what people think of you.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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
Bell’s current list of charities covers a staggering amount of ground: animal rights, prostate cancer, stem cell donation, Alzheimer’s disease, international child hunger, domestic chid poverty and young mothers raised in foster care.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2018
“My refusing to eat Flesh occasioned an Inconveniency,” Franklin later recalled, “and I was frequently chid for my singularity.”
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2014
He meekly went back to bed when she gently chid him, but he was restless and slept little.
From The Best Policy by Flower, Elliott
In an apparent acknowledgment that his plans are grandiose, Son chided modern business leaders for failing to talk about big visions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 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
Tasnim, an Iranian media outlet aligned with the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, chided Araghchi for his post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 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
“Come on, Beck, use those skills to create some tickets,” chided Kurt.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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
This was well, but the mention of your name was better, and much close questioning gave me the scene which he remembered, because Ottila had chidden him sharply for his disclosures to yourself.
From Moods by Alcott, Louisa May
Some twenty of us, including the chidden, but wholly unabashed soldiers, went at it in line, and, after the manner of stone-faced banks, it grew very tall as we approached it.
From Further Experiences of an Irish R.M. by Ross, Martin
Yesterday Bertram would have chidden Ali gently, and explained that kind hearts are more than coronets and gentle words than cruel whips.
From Cupid in Africa by Wren, P. C.
Ingratitude must be gently chidden, for it goes ill with beauty--as a mother gently chides a well-beloved one.
From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis
Cardinals fans began chiding themselves for ever believing Walker had changed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
It wasn’t long after that moment that Cronin went viral again, this time for chiding a reporter who asked about the Michigan State student section during his postgame interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 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
One recent, pointed example drew on a speech from 2000, chiding people who lecture others but fail to preach by example.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
Afterward I spoke with Walter and voiced my frustration, chiding him for not coming to my aid.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
