chill

[ chil ]
See synonyms for: chillchilledchillerchillest on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. coldness, especially a moderate but uncomfortably penetrating coldness: the chill of evening.

  2. a sensation of cold, usually with shivering: She felt a slight chill from the open window.

  1. a feeling of sudden fear, anxiety, or alarm.

  2. sudden coldness of the body, as during the cold stage of an ague: fevers and chills.

  3. a depressing influence or sensation: His presence cast a chill over everyone.

  4. lack of warmth of feeling; unfriendliness; coolness.

  5. Foundry. an inserted object or a surface in a mold capable of absorbing large amounts of heat, used to harden the surface of a casting or to increase its rate of solidification at a specific point.

adjective
  1. moderately cold; tending to cause shivering; chilly: a chill wind.

  2. shivering with or affected by cold; chilly.

  1. depressing or discouraging: chill prospects.

  2. unduly formal; unfriendly; chilly: a chill reception.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become cold: The earth chills when the sun sets.

  2. to be seized with a chill; shiver with cold or fear.

  1. Foundry. (of a casting) to become hard on the surface by contact with a chill or chills.

  2. Slang. to calm down; relax (often followed by out).

verb (used with object)
  1. to affect with cold; make chilly: The rain has chilled me to the bone.

  2. to make cool: Chill the wine before serving.

  1. to depress; discourage; deter: The news chilled his hopes.

  2. Foundry. to harden the surface of (a casting) by casting it in a mold having a chill or chills.

  3. Slang. to kill; murder.

Idioms about chill

  1. take a chill pill, Slang. See chill pill (def. 2).

Origin of chill

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English chile, Old English cele, ci(e)le “coolness”; cf. cool, cold; akin to Latin gelāre “to freeze,” gelum “frost, cold,” glaciēs “ice” (see gelato, gelid, glacier)

synonym study For chill

9. See cold.

Other words for chill

Other words from chill

  • chill·ing·ly, adverb
  • chillness, noun
  • o·ver·chill, adjective
  • o·ver·chill, verb
  • pre·chill, verb (used with object)
  • un·chilled, adjective
  • well-chilled, adjective

Words Nearby chill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chill

chill

/ (tʃɪl) /


noun
  1. a moderate coldness

  2. a sensation of coldness resulting from a cold or damp environment, or from a sudden emotional reaction

  1. a feverish cold

  2. a check on enthusiasm or joy

  3. a metal plate placed in a sand mould to accelerate cooling and control local grain growth

  4. another name for bloom 1 (def. 9)

adjective
  1. another word for chilly

verb
  1. to make or become cold

  2. (tr) to cool or freeze (food, drinks, etc)

  1. (tr)

    • to depress (enthusiasm, etc)

    • to discourage

  2. (tr) to cool (a casting or metal object) rapidly in order to prevent the formation of large grains in the metal

  3. (intr) slang, mainly US to relax; calm oneself

Origin of chill

1
Old English ciele; related to calan to cool, Latin gelidus icy

Derived forms of chill

  • chilling, adjective
  • chillingly, adverb
  • chillness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012