pill

¹

[pil]

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.

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.

pill

²

[pil]

verb (used with or without object)

1. British Dialect.,  to peel.

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

pill

³

[pil]

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

1. to rob, plunder, or pillage.

pill

¹

/ 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

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

/ pɪl /

verb

1. archaic,  to peel or skin (something)

2. archaic,  to pillage or plunder (a place)

3. obsolete,  to make or become bald

Word History and Origins

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of pill¹

C15: from Middle Flemish pille, from Latin pilula a little ball, from pila ball

Origin of pill²

Old English pilian, from Latin pilāre to strip

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. Take a chill pill! chill pill.

see bitter pill to swallow; sugar the pill.

Example Sentences

I want to write about the first time I did a pill.

Read more on Salon

PrEP, available as a daily pill or an injection every eight weeks, significantly reduces the risk of contracting HIV.

Read more on BBC

“I used to take pills for fun,” he says ruefully in “Ozzy: No Escape From Now,” which shows the star at his most fragile.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Traditional drugs, such as those that come in a pill form and treat common illnesses like cardiovascular disease, are less lucrative than they used to be, Weitzman said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"So, the future isn't just about designing a pill. It's also about asking how behavior, training, and lifestyle can change the way these neurons encode pain."

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• dose 
• medicine 
• tablet