pill

[ pil ]

/ pɪl /

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noun

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

something unpleasant that has to be accepted or endured: Ingratitude is a bitter pill.

Slang. a tiresomely disagreeable person.

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

the pill. birth-control pill.

pills, British Slang. billiards.

verb (used with object)

to dose with pills.

to form or make into pills.

Slang. to blackball.

verb (used without object)

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

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Idioms about pill

Take a chill pill!Disparaging Slang. chill pill (def. 2).

Origin of pill

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

Other definitions for pill (2 of 3)

pill²

[ pil ]

/ pɪl /

verb (used with or without object)

British Dialect. to peel.

Obsolete. to become or cause to become bald.

Origin of pill

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 pile³

Other definitions for pill (3 of 3)

pill³

[ pil ]

/ pɪl /

verb (used with object) Archaic.

to rob, plunder, or pillage.

Origin of pill

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pile(n), pille(n), pilie(n), probably conflation of pill² with Middle French piller, peler (see pillage)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pill in a sentence

They are a much better bet than something called Stree Overlord that’s wedged between penis enlargement pills and pole-dancer-shaped air fresheners.
How Much Sex Is Too Much Sex?|Eugene Robinson|October 4, 2020|Ozy
Akin to the indemnification clause in the 101 Ash deal that let the seller off the hook for any problems with the building, this is a poison pill the city cannot afford to swallow.
San Diego Is Headed Toward Another Bad Deal Unless Leaders Intervene|Brian Pollard|October 1, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Taken before meals, the pill becomes a substance that expands to take up about 25% of the stomach, so people eat less.
Ro makes the weight loss product Plenity commercially available to everyone in the U.S.|Jonathan Shieber|October 1, 2020|TechCrunch
Celgene had repeatedly raised the price for revlimid, a treatment for multiple myeloma, from $215 per pill in 2005 to $719 last year.
‘Mighty whiteboard of truth’: The weapon Rep. Katie Porter used to school a pharma exec — and plenty others|Teo Armus|October 1, 2020|Washington Post

As a bonus, such small molecules are available in pill form and don’t need refrigeration or expert administration, making them easier to distribute in rural communities.
Cheap, innovative venom treatments could save tens of thousands of snakebite victims|Christie Wilcox|September 19, 2020|Science News
My father pilled him at his club ten years ago; if he put up again, I'd pill him; if he got in, I'd resign.
Lady Lilith|Stephen McKenna
I have known a father pilled for membership of a club and his son go through all right.
The Awful Australian|Valerie Desmond
This has set my mind at ease about you, for it is a serious matter being pilled in such a club.
The Betrayal of John Fordham|B.L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon
Roger, alone, fought three officers in succession; he pilled one, and badly wounded the other two without receiving a scratch.
Abb Aubain and Mosaics|Prosper Mrime
Sam now staggered forward with battered bones and pilled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like nothing but himself.
Humours of Irish Life|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pill (1 of 2)

pill¹

/ (pɪl) /

noun

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

the pill (sometimes capital) informal an oral contraceptive

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

slang a ball or disc

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

slang an unpleasant or boring person

verb

(tr) to give pills to

(tr) to make pills of

(intr)

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

(tr) slang to blackball

Word Origin for pill

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

British Dictionary definitions for pill (2 of 2)

pill²

/ (pɪl) /

verb

archaic, or dialect to peel or skin (something)

archaic to pillage or plunder (a place)

obsolete to make or become bald

Word Origin for pill

Old English pilian, from Latin pilāre to strip

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with pill

pill

see bitter pill to swallow; sugar the pill.

pill

Idioms about pill

Origin of pill

Other definitions for pill (2 of 3)

Origin of pill

Other definitions for pill (3 of 3)

Origin of pill

Words related to pill

How to use pill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pill (1 of 2)

Word Origin for pill

British Dictionary definitions for pill (2 of 2)

Word Origin for pill

Other Idioms and Phrases with pill