chili

noun

ˈchi-lē 

variants or less commonly chile or chiefly British chilli

plural chilies also chiles or chilis or chiefly British chillies

1

a

or chili pepper : a hot pepper of any of a group of cultivars (Capsicum annuum annuum group longum) noted for their pungency

b

chiefly British chilli : a pepper whether hot or sweet

2

a

: a thick sauce of meat and chilies

liked to cover her spaghetti with red chili

b

: chili con carne

a bowl of chili

also : a similar dish made without beef

vegetarian chili

seafood chili

Examples of chili in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But there are also completely unexpected sights, like edible ferns, exotic chilis, and snake beans, which look like string beans but are about twice the length. —Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

Stalls selling pumpkin chili, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin ice cream line the carnival grounds. —Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 5 Sep. 2025

Cincinnatians can't talk dining without bringing up Cincinnati-style chili. —Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2025

Fresh vegetables The vegetables imported to Milwaukee's Burmese shops from Southeast Asia include water spinach, Thai chili leaves, pennywort, okra and bitter melon. —Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chīlli

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing chili

• chili con carne
• chili con queso
• chili dog
• chili powder
• chili sauce
• ghost chili

Rhymes for chili

• billie
• billy
• chilli
• chilly
• dilly
• filly
• frilly
• gillie
• gilly
• hilly
• lily
• philly

Kids Definition

chili

noun

variants also chile or chilli

ˈchil-ē

plural chilies also chiles or chilis or chillies

1

: hot pepper sense 1

2

: chili con carne

Geographical Definition

Chili

geographical name

ˈchi-lē 

—former, especially British name for Chile or for the once poorly defined Andes border region between Chile and Argentina