chill pill

American

[chil pil] / ˈtʃɪl ˌpɪl /

noun

something that has a calming or relaxing effect.

idioms

take a chill pill, (often used imperatively) to calm down; relax.

Stop shouting! Take a chill pill!

chill pill British

noun

informal an imaginary medicinal pill with a calming, relaxing effect

take a chill pill

"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

Etymology

Origin of chill pill

First recorded in 1980–85

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.

The viral clip began with Mr Shivshankar asking "Daniel McAdams" to "just take a bit of a chill pill".

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2022

Bill “Hyperbole” Plaschke needs to take a chill pill and give this Lakers team more respect than that.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2020

Even the turtles seem to have taken a chill pill on Maui’s North Shore.

From Seattle Times • May 17, 2018

"Everyone needs to take a chill pill on the polls until it gets closer."

From US News • May 13, 2015

All he had to do was to take a chill pill.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023