chilli
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Monthly inflation in Indonesia doubled in May, driven by food prices and particularly chilli in the hot sauce-addicted country, the BPS statistics agency said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Indonesians eat a hot sauce known as sambal made of chilli, garlic, shallots and aromatics with just about every meal.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
The substance is believed to have been an irritant spray, identified by authorities as likely containing capsaicin - which is found in chilli peppers.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
According to the BBC Food, a little black pepper or balsamic vinegar helps to give them more flavour, while pairing them with some form of chilli can help balance the flavours out.
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
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
I like to make mine by heating sesame oil, minced garlic, minced ginger and cut green chillies in a small saucepan over medium heat.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Adding heat with chillies or pepper can also help by acting as a decoy to the bitterness.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2024
Last year, Gregory Foster ate 10 Carolina Reaper chillies, which Guinness World Records has named the hottest in the world, at a record time of 33.15 seconds in San Diego, California.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
The Solanaceae family is a vast one with more than 2,500 members including tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers, tobacco, deadly nightshade and henbane.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023
In the granary, unused for so long, I stored away half a bag of rice, two measures of dhal and nearly a pound of chillies.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Definitions 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.
