chill
Americannoun
-
chills
plural
-
coldness, especially a moderate but uncomfortably penetrating coldness.
the chill of evening.
-
a sensation of cold, usually with shivering.
She felt a slight chill from the open window.
-
a feeling of sudden fear, anxiety, or alarm.
-
sudden coldness of the body, as during the cold stage of an ague.
fevers and chills.
-
a depressing influence or sensation.
His presence cast a chill over everyone.
-
lack of warmth of feeling; unfriendliness; coolness.
-
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
verb (used without object)
-
chills,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chilled,
past participle, past
-
chilling
present participle
-
to become cold.
The earth chills when the sun sets.
-
to be seized with a chill; shiver with cold or fear.
-
Foundry. (of a casting) to become hard on the surface by contact with a chill or chills.
-
Slang. to calm down; relax (often followed byout ).
verb (used with object)
-
chills,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chilled,
past participle, past
-
chilling
present participle
-
to affect with cold; make chilly.
The rain has chilled me to the bone.
-
to make cool.
Chill the wine before serving.
-
to depress; discourage; deter.
The news chilled his hopes.
-
Foundry. to harden the surface of (a casting) by casting it in a mold having a chill or chills.
-
Slang. to kill; murder.
idioms
noun
-
a moderate coldness
-
a sensation of coldness resulting from a cold or damp environment, or from a sudden emotional reaction
-
a feverish cold
-
a check on enthusiasm or joy
-
a metal plate placed in a sand mould to accelerate cooling and control local grain growth
-
another name for bloom 1
adjective
verb
-
to make or become cold
-
(tr) to cool or freeze (food, drinks, etc)
-
(tr)
-
to depress (enthusiasm, etc)
-
to discourage
-
-
(tr) to cool (a casting or metal object) rapidly in order to prevent the formation of large grains in the metal
-
slang (intr) to relax; calm oneself
Synonym Usage
See cold.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
chillnessnoun
-
overchillverb
-
prechillverb (used with object)
-
chillingadjective
-
overchilladjective
-
unchilledadjective
-
well-chilledadjective
-
chillinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chillsimple
-
chillssimple
-
have chilledperfect
-
has chilledperfect
-
am chillingprogressive
-
are chillingprogressive
-
is chillingprogressive
-
have been chillingperfect progressive
-
has been chillingperfect progressive
Past
-
chilledsimple
-
had chilledperfect
-
was chillingprogressive
-
were chillingprogressive
-
had been chillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chill
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)
Explanation
A sharp burst of cold air or icy temperatures is a chill. The chill of a January day in New England might make you dream of moving to New Mexico. You'll feel a chill when someone opens a window in the winter, or notice a chill in the air on a cool day in September. Another kind of chill makes you shiver, but it's caused by illness and fever rather than a cold breeze: "Symptoms of the flu include chills and headache." A cold attitude is also a chill, as when a chill in the room makes you realize your friends are angry at each other.
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:
And he’s saying things, even on “Saturday Night Live,” that were patently untrue… Even when he says, “Did you think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
In his newsletter, the Surge, Jim explains one story that’s essential for understanding the news, one story to keep an eye on, and one story that everyone needs to chill out about.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
Her character wears legwarmers and knit wristlets to the office as protection against the air conditioning, which also serves to emphasize her company’s interpersonal chill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
By Wednesday, the autumn chill will be firmly established and it is expected to be the first day since 11 June when temperatures fail to reach 20C anywhere in the UK.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
His mocking, wide smile lingered, and Molly shuddered at the chill that crept down her spine.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
The line chills not because something like Instagram Kids feels plausible, but because it’s already a reality.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
By then, he was suffering from fever, chills, muscle pain, a sore throat and bleeding.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
In painful detail, she described the splitting headaches, body aches, chills, high fevers and hallucinations that had tormented her for days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“He’s been my muse on this street for a while. … He just roams around the store, chills, does his little nap thing, and hangs out with everybody, so he’s very social.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Doctor Quinn had an abstract quality that appealed to Joan, but it gave me the polar chills.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Some business groups have argued that the approval and environmental assessment process for major infrastructure projects in Canada drags on and has chilled investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Users say it can make them feel dream-like and detached, chilled and relaxed.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The measure is modeled on an Oregon law enacted last year that has chilled private-equity healthcare dealmaking in the state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Just the sight of the glasses, dewy with condensation on the outside and filled to the rim with clinking ice, nearly chilled my body.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Never again would I be chilled at height.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
There’s a chilling moment at the end of the film where somebody asks him, “Why have you accreted so much power?”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
The production’s novelty: Audience members wear headphones, so we hear Lucas’s voice more intimately, and also the creaks and thumps and eerie noises that enhance the chilling tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The prosecution opposed the disclosures, saying they would have a "chilling effect" on the lone juror.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
One can imagine a slow drip of consumer horror stories having a chilling effect on people’s interest in Muse-like apps.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
But never had a pariah had such a chilling effect on bringers of death.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
