chile

1 of 2

noun

variant spelling of chili

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

chile

2 of 2

pronunciation spelling

ˈchī(-ə)l 

—used for "child" chiefly in spoken African American English especially of the southern U.S. and in written representations of such speech

… sources close to the situation have said that the "Love on the Brain" singer is remaining in Barbados while awaiting the birth of her first chile, as Newsweek also notes.

—Shanelle Genai

—often used as an affectionate or friendly way of addressing someone

"Chile, no one looks great this early in the morning," [Debbie] Allen [actress] replied with a chuckle, thanking her.

—Tonja Renée Stidhum

The couple shared the amazing news on Instagram, and chile … that ring is everything!

—Jasmine Grant

[Nikole] Hannah-Jones [investigative journalist] decided the best response would be to quote King accurately by reading excerpts of his speeches without mentioning explicitly that they were his words. "And, whew, chile, it was AMAZING," she said.

—David Moye

Examples of chile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

We roasted tomatoes, garlic and chiles for red salsa, mixed corn flour with pork fat for the tamale batter, and roasted ancho chiles before frying them in oil and boiling them in chicken stock for the 27-ingredient mole sauce. —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026

Meanwhile, green uses fresh green chiles, and white omits the chiles altogether. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026

Kramer makes a case for throwing out the flour and eggs when making latkes and, most expansively, serving them year-round with everything from pickled chiles to loads of dill and basil, and, of course, labneh. —Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 12 Jan. 2026

Maybe use ground chiles in place of chili powder, or ground coriander instead of cumin. —Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Pronunciation Spelling

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chile

• bacilli
• tranquilly
• billie
• billy
• chilli
• chilly
• dilly
• filly
• frilly
• gillie
• gilly
• hilly

Geographical Definition

Chile

geographical name

Chi·​le ˈchi-lē 

ˈchē-(ˌ)lā

long, narrow country of southwestern South America between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific; a republic whose capital is Santiago and whose legislative capital is Valparaíso area 291,933 square miles (756,102 square kilometers), population 17,925,000

Chilean

ˈchi-lē-ən 

chə-ˈlā-ən

adjective or noun