chili

American  

[chil-ee] / ˈtʃɪl i /

especially British, chilli

noun

chilies plural

1. Sometimes chile a hearty stew that is also used as a topping condiment on other dishes and has varied recipes and ingredients, with or without meat, ultimately derived from the Mexican-style chili con carne.

2. chili con carne.

3. chile.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• chilies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chili

First recorded in 1655–65; from Mexican Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chīlli “chile pepper”

Explanation

A chili is a pungent, spicy pepper, and it's also the name of a delicious stew made of meat and beans that's flavored with chili powder. A chili, or chili pepper, is actually the berry of a Capsicum plant. Both fresh and dried chilis are used to add some heat and spice to all kinds of dishes, from Mexican mole to Indian curry and Thai stir-fry. They're also an important ingredient in chili con carne, the spicy stew whose name is often shortened to chili. The word derives from the Aztec chilli, "spicy pepper."

Example Sentences

“One hope of this project is that by making the child into the teacher, students who felt they weren’t capable of writing can recover their self-confidence,” said Séverin Lemaignan, a postdoctoral researcher with CHILI.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2015