pill

¹ American  

[pil] / pɪl /

noun

1. a small globular or rounded mass of medicinal substance, usually covered with a hard coating, that is to be swallowed whole.

2. something unpleasant that has to be accepted or endured.

   Ingratitude is a bitter pill.

3. Slang. a tiresomely disagreeable person.

4. Sports Slang. a ball, especially a baseball or golf ball.

5. the pill. birth-control pill.

6. British Slang. pills, billiards.

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verb (used with object)

1. to dose with pills.

2. to form or make into pills.

3. Slang. to blackball.

verb (used without object)

1. to form into small, pill-like balls, as the fuzz on a wool sweater.

idioms

1. Take a chill pill! chill pill.

pill ² American  

[pil] / pɪl /

verb (used with or without object)

1. British Dialect. to peel.

2. Obsolete. to become or cause to become bald.

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pill ³ American  

[pil] / pɪl /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

1. to rob, plunder, or pillage.

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pill ¹ British  

/ pɪl /

noun

1. a small spherical or ovoid mass of a medicinal substance, intended to be swallowed whole

2. informal (sometimes capital) an oral contraceptive

3. something unpleasant that must be endured (esp in the phrase bitter pill to swallow )

4. slang a ball or disc

5. a small ball of matted fibres that forms on the surface of a fabric through rubbing

6. slang an unpleasant or boring person

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verb

1. (tr) to give pills to

2. (tr) to make pills of

3. (intr)

   1. to form into small balls

   2. (of a fabric) to form small balls of fibre on its surface through rubbing

4. slang (tr) to blackball

pill ² British  

/ pɪl /

verb

1. archaic to peel or skin (something)

2. archaic to pillage or plunder (a place)

3. obsolete to make or become bald

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pill More Idioms  

1. see bitter pill to swallow; sugar the pill.

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Etymology

Origin of pill¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English pille, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch pille, Old French pile, from Latin pilula “little ball, globule, pellet,” diminutive of pila “ball”; -ule

Origin of pill²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English pilen “to rob, steal, plunder,” Old English pilian “to skin, peel,” from Latin pilāre “to pluck, remove (hair or feathers)” pile ³

Origin of pill³

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pile(n), pille(n), pilie(n), probably conflation of pill ² with Middle French piller, peler ( pillage )

Example Sentences

In a late-stage phase 3 clinical trial published in The Lancet, scientists found that a single dose of this pill worked just as well as the current standard treatment used today.

From Science Daily

There’s no right and wrong when it comes to other people’s money, but that doesn’t make it any easier pill to swallow.

From MarketWatch

Injectable GLP-1s are anticipated to dominate weight loss due to faster results, despite pills being cheaper to produce and distribute.

From Barron's

The challenge for Vanda is that Nereus will compete against dramamine, which costs around a dollar per pill.

From Barron's

In addition, they examined how the products were taken, including oral forms such as pills, oromucosal sprays applied inside the mouth, and topical products applied to the skin.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• dose
• medicine
• tablet