Lille

American

[leel] / lil /

noun

a city in and the capital of Nord, in N France.

Lille British

/ lil /

noun

an industrial city in N France: the medieval capital of Flanders; forms with Roubaix and Tourcoing one of the largest conurbations in France. Pop: 184 657 (1999)

"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

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.

Socialists and allies held on to power France's big four cities - Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille - on a local election night that offered hopes for mainstream parties in next year's presidential elections.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

It was skipper McGinn who called on the squad to finish the job against Lille and follow boss Unai Emery's lead.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Ryan Giggs' late free-kick for Manchester United, scored while Lille were still arranging their wall, led the Lille players to walk off in a Champions League last-16 tie.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Veteran striker Olivier Giroud's penalty gave Lille a 1-0 win at Angers on Sunday which put them fifth and snapped a six-match winless streak in Ligue 1.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

“Which reminds me of poor Agnes of Lille, who once lived among us.”

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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