chill

noun

ˈchil 

1

a

: a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering (as due to illness)

He had caught a chill that night, and was now down with a fever.

—Wilkie Collins

—usually plural

If you have a cough, fever and chills and are not breathing as easily as usual, you might have a cold or the flu.

—Linda Searing

Over the next few days, my body followed up with a series of messages: you have a sore throat; you have a fever; you have the chills.

—John Herrman

b

: an intense shivery sensation : shiver, shudder

especially : one caused by a strong emotion (such as fear)

Do you like a good scare? The sort of story, or moment, that sends a chill down your spine and makes the hair on your arms stand up like porcupine quills?

—Katherine Scott Crawford

—often plural

a song so beautiful it gives me chills

… this is where [Stephen] King shines, creating those aforementioned creepy scenes that gave me the chills.

—Katherine Whitt

c

: a disagreeable sensation of coldness

When you venture outside on a cold day, chances are you feel the biggest chill in your fingers.

—Tamekia Reece

2

: a moderate but disagreeable degree of cold

a chill in the air

3

: a check to enthusiasm or warmth of feeling

And a chill fell over the service as mourners … carried a casket draped in white to the altar.

—Katherine Creag and Jennifer Millman

Synonyms of chill

• chilliness
• bitterness
• cold
• coldness
• bite

Examples of chill in a Sentence

There was a chill in the autumn air.

He closed the windows to keep out the chill.

Her symptoms include chills and a fever.

He caught a chill that turned into a bad cold.

The novel's final scene gave him the chills.

Her words sent chills down my spine.

Recent Examples on the Web

Not like my boyfriend’s family’s doorbell, with its complicated, seven-tone church melody that gives you spiritual chills and causes you to quiver excitedly. —Literary Hub, 8 June 2026

Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, malaise, fatigue, anorexia, myalgia, chest discomfort, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. —Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026

The brisk, nasty chill cast by the film may prove divisive; ditto its unapologetically ghastly characters. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 4 June 2026

Common symptoms include a fever, chills, fatigue, headache, body aches, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and airway irritation. —Ryan Brennan june 2, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English chile chill, frost, from Old English ciele; akin to Old English ceald cold

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing chill

• a chill/shiver runs up/down someone's spine
• chill factor
• chill out
• make a chill/shiver run up/down someone's spine
• pre-chill
• send a chill/shiver up/down someone's spine
• take the chill off

Rhymes for chill

• bill
• brill
• drill
• fil
• fill
• frill
• gill
• grill
• grille
• jill
• kill
• krill

Kids Definition

chill

1 of 3 noun

ˈchil 

1

: a feeling of cold accompanied by shivering

chills and fever

2

: a strong sensation of shivering especially from an emotion (as fear)

—often used in plural

gave me chills

3

: a moderate but unpleasant amount of cold

there was a chill in the air

chill

2 of 3 adjective

1

: unpleasantly cold : raw

nights grew chill

2

: not friendly

a chill greeting

3

informal : having a relaxed style or manner : laid-back

chillness noun

chill

3 of 3 verb

1

: to make or become cold or chilly

2

: to cool without freezing

chill the pudding for dessert

3

: to affect as if with cold

we were chilled by the ghost story

4

: chill out

5

: to spend time relaxing or socializing

chiller noun

Medical Definition

chill

1 of 2 noun

ˈchil 

1

: a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering

2

: a disagreeable sensation of coldness

chill

2 of 2 intransitive verb

1

a

: to become cold

b

: to shiver or quake with or as if with cold

2

: to become affected with a chill

transitive verb

: to make cold or chilly

Legal Definition

chill

transitive verb

: to discourage especially through fear of penalty : have a chilling effect on

statutes which may chill the exercise of…free expression

—M. H. Redish