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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, 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

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Etymology

Origin of chile¹

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

Origin of chile²

First recorded in 1860–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chile Chile

If you enjoy heat, ask for extra basbaas, a green chile and cilantro sauce that brightens the whole plate.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Next door at El Ruso, owner Walter Soto chopped carne asada while his wife, Julia, took orders: two chile colorado; three birria; no onions, please.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026

It carries fennel, garlic, chile — all the aromatics embedded in the sausage — and it becomes the vehicle for the Cajun seasoning.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026

That meant re-creating a dish, flavored with pineapple and chile peppers, that’s normally prepared with pork.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

My mother and Ultima kept to themselves, tying the red chile into long, thick ristras.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

The sharpest increases have been in Chile and Colombia, where the religiously unaffiliated now outnumber Protestants, as they do in Argentina and Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Aged 29, Bushby said he walked out of Punta Arenas, Chile, with a few hundred dollars in his pocket and turned north for home.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Kevin Hoy, an ESO student based in Chile and lead author of the study published in Nature, spent months examining the CD-35 2722 system.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

There is no quick fix, according to Guajardo and Munoz, who argue that Chile must restore production at its biggest mines and move forward with expansion and modernization projects.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

Agriculture reached down into Argentina and central Chile.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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