pill

¹ American  

[pil] / pɪl /

noun

• pills
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pills
  plural

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”; see -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)” see 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 ( see pillage)

Explanation

A small, round dose of medicine is a pill. If you get sick, you might take a pill, which is a pain because it usually tastes bad. A person who’s a pain can also be called a pill. In addition to medicine, you can take vitamins or other supplements in the form of a pill. Most pills have to be swallowed whole with water, but some can be chewed. Because of the association of pill with yucky medicine, there's also the colloquial meaning of "unpleasant person," like a little brother who's a total pill. And from the same association comes "a bitter pill to swallow," for "a difficult or painful necessity."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pill pills

“It’s very, very common for somebody to be like, ‘Can you make a giant six-foot-tall pill bottle by tomorrow?’” she adds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“That’s a hard pill to swallow for a lot of marketers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

He said another benefit was its convenience, pointing out that unlike the Wegovy pill, which has to be taken on an empty stomach, this pill could be taken at any time of the day.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

“With touring margins often in the 7% to 12% range these days for midtier acts, that is just too big a pill to swallow,” says Thomas Cussins, the CEO of Ineffable Music Group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

They gave you a pill to help you sleep, then they woke you up all night.

From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Then, because the pills cost tens of thousands of dollars and could bankrupt budgets, state after state decided you couldn’t have the cure until your liver had scarred badly enough to prove you needed it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Some analysts say the GLP-1 race will remain competitive as weight-loss pills and new injections are introduced to the market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Oral compounds of this kind can be taken as pills and may cost less to manufacture than injectable GLP-1 drugs.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

Aysen Slack, 65 and from Eastbourne, chose to pay privately for the pills once she heard about them.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

I take my pills and open Skype, scanning the contact list to see if either of my parents is on.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Related Words

• dose
• medicine
• tablet