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chilli

American

[chil-ee] / ˈtʃɪl i /

noun

plural

chillies

Chiefly British. variant of chili.

chilli British

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

the small red hot-tasting pod of a type of capsicum used for flavouring sauces, pickles, etc

"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 chilli

C17: from Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chilli

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.

Hunan's fare has "a tangy aftertaste achieved through fermented chilli peppers", she says, unlike "Sichuan's numbing-spicy or Guizhou's sour-spicy".

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2025

The liquid is believed to be a type of home-made chilli spray with no strong acid or alkaline ingredients, police added.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2025

Why not try to cook a bean chilli, chickpea curry, or tempeh stir-fry?

From Salon • Dec. 3, 2024

One of the snacks we do is a smoked beef snack with seasonal fish and a poppy seed tart with salted citrus and chilli.

From Salon • Oct. 23, 2024

I’d done grilled prawns with lots of chilli and coriander, and we were drinking this delicious Chenin Blanc that he’d been given by a grateful client.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

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