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• chile
  chile

  noun

  the pod of any of several species of Capsicum, especially C. annuum longum: used in cooking for its pungent flavor.
• Chile
  Chile

  noun

  a republic in southwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast. 286,396 square miles (741,765 square kilometers). Santiago.

chile

¹ American  

[chil-ee] / ˈtʃɪl i /

noun

1. Also called chile pepper,.  Also called chili pepper.  the pod of any of several species of Capsicum, especially C. annuum longum: used in cooking for its pungent flavor.

2. chili.

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chile ² American  

[chahyl] / tʃaɪl /

noun

1. a phonetic spelling of child, representing dialectal speech of the Southern United States or African American Vernacular English.

   Oh, chile, you do not want to test me!

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Chile ³ American  

[chil-ee, chee-le] / ˈtʃɪl i, ˈtʃi lɛ /

noun

1. a republic in southwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast. 286,396 square miles (741,765 square kilometers). Santiago.

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chile ¹ British  

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of chilli

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Chile ² British  

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

1. a republic in South America, on the Pacific, with a total length of about 4090 km (2650 miles) and an average width of only 177 km (110 miles): gained independence from Spain in 1818; the government of President Allende (elected 1970) attempted the implementation of Marxist policies within a democratic system until overthrown by a military coup (1973); democracy restored 1988. Chile consists chiefly of the Andes in the east, the Atacama Desert in the north, a central fertile region, and a huge S region of almost uninhabitable mountains, glaciers, fjords, and islands; an important producer of copper, iron ore, nitrates, etc. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Santiago. Pop: 17 216 945 (2013 est). Area: 756 945 sq km (292 256 sq miles)

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Chile Cultural  

1. Republic in southern South America on the western slope of the Andes. Chile is a long, narrow strip of land bordered by Peru to the north, Bolivia and Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Santiago.

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Pinochet suppressed human rights and political activity until he lost a plebiscite in 1988. A successor was chosen in free elections. In 1998, Pinochet was arrested in Great Britain on a Spanish warrant, but a court ruled him too ill to stand trial. He returned to Chile, where attempts to prosecute him continued.

In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet led a coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende, a Marxist.

Other Word Forms

• Chilean
  adjective
• pseudo-Chilean
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of chile¹

First recorded in 1855–60; variant spelling of chili ( def. )

Origin of chile²

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chile Chile

We stop at a popular shop, newly under a roof, for cheung fen, rice-flour rolls dressed in sesame, soy, and chile, and eat standing up, like before.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Chasing green chile cheeseburgers through New Mexico is sport for food obsessives.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

Aromatics are sizzled — onion, garlic, ginger — followed by tomato and warming spices, including cinnamon and smoked chile.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2026

That meant re-creating a dish, flavored with pineapple and chile peppers, that’s normally prepared with pork.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

“Nessy chile, you done changed. You losing the meat on your bones.”

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

That followed a defeat by Chile in the Copa America final, in which he missed a penalty in the shootout as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Just two days after his 29th birthday and soon after missing a penalty in Argentina's Copa America final loss to Chile in a shootout, Messi decided he had seen enough.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The mine was beneath an atmospheric river that inundated much of Chile, a rare occurrence that meteorologists said was consistent with a strengthening El Niño.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Chile, the world’s top copper producer, is lowering output due to aging mines and declining ore grades, and opening a new copper mine takes anywhere between 10 to 15 years to develop.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Professor Macmillan is still looking for evidence in New Hampshire or Chile, but he says it's possible.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman