# chill

Pronunciation: say "CHIL" /t͡ʃɪl/

## Verb

1. To make something cold or cool, or to become cold or cool, as in 'chill the dough' or 'let the custard chill'.
   - Simple: To make something cold, or to become cold, often in a fridge.
   - _Chill the dough for at least an hour before rolling it out._
   - _The caterers chilled the champagne in buckets of ice._
2. (informal) To relax and take it easy, often by spending time casually with friends; to hang out. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To relax and do nothing much, often with friends.
   - _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._
9. To discourage or depress, damping the eagerness of people or the activity of something.
   - Simple: To make people less eager or hopeful, or to slow something down.
   - _Fear of lawsuits can chill honest reporting about powerful companies._
   - _The surprise layoffs chilled the staff's enthusiasm for the merger._

## Noun

3. A coldness that is not severe but is unpleasant and penetrating.
   - Simple: A cold feeling in the air that is not extreme but feels unpleasant and goes right through you.
   - _We lit a fire to take the chill off the cabin._
   - _A damp chill had settled over the valley by sunset._
4. 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.
   - Simple: A feeling of fear or worry that can make you shiver, as if you were 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._
5. 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.
   - Simple: A sudden cold feeling that makes your body shake. It can be a sign that you are getting sick.
   - _The flu came on suddenly, with a high fever and chills._
   - _Get out of those wet clothes before you catch a chill._
8. A discouraging effect that makes people wary of acting or speaking freely, or the uneasy atmosphere it creates.
   - Simple: A feeling of fear in a place or time that stops people from saying or doing what they want.
   - _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._
10. Calmness, or a steady and untroubled state of mind.
   - Simple: The quality of staying calm and not getting upset.
   - _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._
13. An unfriendly lack of warmth and cordiality, as between people, groups, or countries.
   - Simple: A cold, unfriendly feeling between people or groups.
   - _A chill settled over relations between the two countries after the ambassador was expelled._
   - _She answered his apology with unmistakable chill._
15. An easy sense of style and social know-how that makes someone or something seem effortlessly trendy.
   - Simple: A cool sense of style and knowing the right way to act.
   - _The band's effortless chill made them the group every club kid in the city tried to copy._
   - _The little café has real chill, with its mismatched chairs and quiet records playing in the back._

## Adjective

6. Calm, relaxed, and easygoing in manner or feel. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Calm and relaxed, not worried or upset about things.
   - _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._
7. Moderately cold, enough to feel chilly.
   - Simple: Cold, but not very cold.
   - _A chill wind swept in off the lake as the sun went down._
   - _The chill morning air woke him up faster than coffee._
11. Okay or acceptable, and not a problem. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Fine, or not a problem.
   - _“Sorry I'm late.” “It's chill, we haven't started yet.”_
   - _If you'd rather stay in tonight, that's totally chill._
12. Hip or cool enough to meet a particular crowd's standards or win its approval. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Cool, and the kind of thing your friends or people your age like.
   - _That jacket is so chill; where'd you get it?_
   - _Her new friends decided she was chill enough to sit with them at lunch._
14. Unwelcoming and cool in manner, lacking warmth or cordiality.
   - Simple: Not friendly, and not making people feel welcome.
   - _The visiting team faced a chill reception from the home crowd._
   - _Diplomats noted the chill tone of the minister's statement._

## Contraction

16. Contracted form of I will. *(obsolete, West Country)*
   - Simple: A short way of saying I will.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To smoke cannabis.
- (verb) In metalworking, to harden the surface of metal by cooling it suddenly, or of metal, to harden in this way.
- (noun) The hardened portion of a casting, for example the tread of a carriage wheel.
- (noun) An iron mold, or a section of a mold, that cools the surface of molten iron touching it so quickly that the surface hardens.

## Origin

**Meanings 3–8, 10–15** — Proto-Indo-European *gel- ("to be cold") led through Proto-Germanic *kaliz and Proto-West Germanic *kali to Old English ċiele, ċele ("cold, coldness"), which became Middle English chele, chile. Dutch kil is a close relative, and cool, cold, gel and congeal are also akin.
**Meanings 1–2, 9** — Middle English chillen continues Old English ċilian ("to be cold"), which came from *kilēn, a Proto-West Germanic verb with the same meaning. Middle Dutch killen ("to be cold") and Dutch killen ("to be cold, shiver") are cognates.
**Meaning 16** — Middle English ichille, formed from ich and will, is the source of this short form of "I will". In effect it is ch- attached to will.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chill (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).