chill

Formschills, chilling, chilled

Pluralchills

1. 1
   verbtransitive

   To make something cold or cool, or to become cold or cool, as in 'chill the dough' or 'let the custard chill'.

   Chill the dough for at least an hour before rolling it out.

   The caterers chilled the champagne in buckets of ice.

   Similarcool, refrigerate, ice

   Oppositewarm, heat

2. 2
   verbslangintransitive

   (informal) To relax and take it easy, often by spending time casually with friends; to hang out.

   After finals, I just want to chill at home for a few days.

   Everybody chill, because the bus isn't leaving for another twenty minutes.

   UsageOften an order to calm down (Chill, man), which can sound dismissive, so it suits friends better than a tense meeting.

   Similarrelax, unwind, lounge, rest

   Note

   The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight (1979) already set a time to chill beside a time to break. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Rapper's Delight is a Sugarhill Gang song released in 1979. en.wikipedia.org
   • The song places a time to break beside a time to chill. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   cold airnounusually singular

   A coldness that is not severe but is unpleasant and penetrating.

   We lit a fire to take the chill off the cabin.

   A damp chill had settled over the valley by sunset.

   UsageCommon in take the chill off a room and the evening chill; weather reports give wind chill in degrees.

   Similarcold, coldness, coolness

   Oppositewarmth

   Note

   Old English ċiele meant both cold and coldness, and the noun keeps that plain physical sense beneath all its figurative ones; cool and cold are its close relatives. Weather reports speak of wind chill, the extra cold a steady breeze adds, and give it in degrees: wind chills in the teens. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Old English ċiele meant cold and coldness. en.wiktionary.org
   • Chill is etymologically related to cool and cold. en.wiktionary.org
   • Wind chill describes the additional cold felt because wind increases heat loss. forecast.weather.gov
   • Wind chill is expressed as a temperature in degrees. weather.gov
4. 4
   shiver of fearnouncountable

   An uncomfortable, numbing feeling of fear, dread, anxiety, or alarm, often sudden and usually with a shiver like the body's response to bitter cold.

   A chill ran down her spine when she heard footsteps behind her in the empty parking garage.

   The final scene of the film still sends chills through me.

   UsageCommon in a chill ran down her spine, send chills through someone and give someone chills.

   Similarshiver, shudder

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A sudden cold feeling that runs through the body, often making it shiver briefly, or the shivering itself; often a sign of illness or of catching one.

   The flu came on suddenly, with a high fever and chills.

   Get out of those wet clothes before you catch a chill.

   UsageCommon in catch a chill and fever and chills.

   Similarshiver

6. 6
   adjectiveslang

   Calm, relaxed, and easygoing in manner or feel.

   Her parents are pretty chill about curfew as long as she texts them.

   We had a chill evening at home with takeout and a movie.

   UsageUsed before a noun or after a verb (a chill teacher, she's really chill); compares as chiller or more chill.

   Similarrelaxed, laid-back, easygoing, mellow, carefree

   Oppositeuptight, tense

7. 7
   adjective

   Moderately cold, enough to feel chilly.

   A chill wind swept in off the lake as the sun went down.

   The chill morning air woke him up faster than coffee.

   UsageUsually before a noun (a chill wind). For weather after a verb, say it's chilly, because it's chill now reads as slang.

   Similarchilly, cold, cool, brisk, raw

   Oppositewarm, hot

   Note

   Milton places this adjective after its noun in Arcades, a masque from the early 1630s printed in his Poems of 1645, writing of blasting vapours chill; today it stands before one, as in a chill wind or a chill morning.

8. 8
   nounusually singular

   A discouraging effect that makes people wary of acting or speaking freely, or the uneasy atmosphere it creates.

   The arrests cast a chill over the student protests, and turnout fell sharply.

   Many writers kept their politics to themselves during the chill of the McCarthy era.

   UsageCommon in cast a chill over something and the chill of an era, as in the chill of the Cold War.

   Similarpall, damper

   Note

   This sense sits close to the phrase chilling effect: when fear or censorship chills what people say, as in the "discourage" verb, the result can hang over a whole period or place.

9. 9
   verbfigurativelytransitive

   To discourage or depress, damping the eagerness of people or the activity of something.

   Fear of lawsuits can chill honest reporting about powerful companies.

   The surprise layoffs chilled the staff's enthusiasm for the merger.

   UsageCommon with speech, reporting and enthusiasm as the object: chill free speech.

   Similardampen, discourage, deter, inhibit, stifle

   Oppositeencourage, stimulate

10. 10
    noununcountable

    Calmness, or a steady and untroubled state of mind.

    My little brother has zero chill when his team is losing.

    The spa's candlelit lounge offers some much-needed chill after a long workweek.

    UsageMost often in have no chill and zero chill, about someone who overreacts.

    Similarcalm, composure

    Note

    A person with no chill overreacts and cannot keep a lid on things, and the internet itself is said to have none. In the positive the word names a relaxed mood a place can deliver, as when a hotel pool promises serious chill, and a culture of chill is one that prizes looking unbothered.

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