\ ˈchil 
\
\Definition of chill
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : 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 pluralIf you have a cough, fever and chills and are not breathing as easily as usual, you might have a cold or the flu.— Linda SearingOver 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
chill
adjective sometimes chiller; sometimes chillest
Definition of chill (Entry 2 of 3)
2 : affected by cold
chill travelers
4 : depressing, dispiriting chill penury— Thomas Gray
5 informal : having a laid-back style or easy demeanor
She looked just like Joey Potter … Really young and super chill. No one was paying any attention. It was a laid-back situation.— Emma Pearse We're very casual. I love how at City Hall people come in everything from wedding gowns to jeans. It's so mellow and chill, just how we like it.— Erin Burnett
chill
verbchilled; chilling; chills
Definition of chill (Entry 3 of 3)
1a : to become cold
b : to shiver or quake with or as if with cold
2 : to become taken with a chill
3a : chill out
b : hang sense 12
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Synonyms & Antonyms for chill
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Adjective
- antiseptic,
- arctic,
- brittle,
- chilly,
- clammy,
- cold,
- cold-blooded,
- cold-eyed,
- coldish,
- cool,
- frigid,
- frosty,
- frozen,
- gelid,
- glacial,
- hard-eyed,
- icy,
- uncordial,
- unfriendly,
- unsympathetic,
- wintry
- (also wintery)
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Adjective
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of chill in a Sentence
Noun
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. Adjective
The chill weather kept us indoors.
were met with a chill gaze when they arrived home late from the party Verb Chill the dessert for one hour before serving it.
Let the dessert chill for one hour before serving it.
Here's a ghost story that will chill you.
Her screams chilled me to the bone .
a horrible sight that chilled my bones
He thinks his parents are way too uptight and says they should just chill.
I decided to stay home and chill.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun After an initial chill later this week and over this coming weekend, even more cold air is set to invade after that.
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Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "The polar vortex is about to split again, and it could bring a 'big' winter storm by MLK Day," 12 Jan. 2021 Now comes the settlement, in which administrators agree to dismantle the bias-response team and amend policies that chill speech.
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The Editorial Board, WSJ, "A Lone Star Speech Victory," 24 Dec. 2020 My gut reaction to brrr — winter’s chill — is birria, in the case of Xochi, beef or lamb slowly braised with a seasoning mix (chiles, cinnamon, cumin, chocolate) as complex as a mole.
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Washington Post, "Taqueria Xochi serves mouthwatering Mexican food from a tiny U Street storefront," 18 Dec. 2020 Here’s how the ice cream makers do it, and what vaccine distributors can learn from their chill process.
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Maddie Bender, Popular Science, "What the Dippin’ Dots ‘cold chain’ can teach us about COVID-19 vaccines," 15 Dec. 2020 Despite my affinity for jorts, my bare legs can’t handle below-40-degree chill.
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The Editors, Outside Online, "The Gear Our Editors Loved in November," 4 Dec. 2020 Add Calvados to pitcher and let mixture chill for 24 hours.
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Beth Segal, cleveland, "Baby, it’s cold outside . . . So let’s stay in and drink cozy holiday cocktails," 27 Nov. 2020 Toward the end, he became panicked by every chill and practically lived with a pulse oximeter on his index finger.
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David Gilbert, The New Yorker, "Preparing to Spin the Wheel of Fortune," 23 Nov. 2020 That means sparkling wines, bright whites, zingy rosés, light chill-able reds, and mellow darker reds that satisfy those who love their wines big and bold.
—
Elin Mccoy, Bloomberg.com, "Toast Your Thanksgiving With a Rosé From Texas or a Vermont Red," 19 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Damian Lillard was totally chill in this game while allowing McCollum and the rest of the team do most of the heavy lifting.
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oregonlive, "Defense thrives, helps lead Portland Trail Blazers to 125-99 win at Sacramento Kings: Game rewind," 10 Jan. 2021 On Euphoria, Barbie Ferreira navigates the ups and downs of her character Kat’s high drama teenage life, but in her day to day, the actress and model prefers to keep things chill.
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Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "24 Euphoric Hours in L.A. With Barbie Ferreira," 8 Dec. 2020 As someone who has demonstrated every facet of a woman’s experience both on film and on stage, the real Waterston is genuinely chill.
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Morgan Baila, refinery29.com, "Katherine Waterston Is Finally Not The One Going Through Hell," 15 Sep. 2020 Brandie and Raina are relatively chill, though, just leaning against the back wall, reading their phones.
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Seija Rankin, EW.com, "First Look: Becky Albertalli's," 10 Sep. 2020 Overalls are an easy put-on for easy, chill-girl style.
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Rachel Bogo, Seventeen, "10 Fourth of July Outfits You'll Want to Wear All Summer Long," 17 June 2020 Even then, the dresses are usually short and the suits are more chill, compared to the gowns and tuxes some will rock for their big prom night.
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Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "What is Homecoming?," 25 June 2020 CrateJoy has monthly subscription boxes with culinary treats (hot sauce of the month, jerky) and chill-time items (craft beer, cocktails, coffee, rolling papers) to clothes (shirts, underwear, socks), cigars, cycling and car products.
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oregonlive, "Father’s Day: Gift ideas to make dads happy on June 21," 7 June 2020 Coogan is the self-serious performer with grand ambitions, or at least pretensions; Brydon is the somewhat more chill Everyman who goes for easy laughs.
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Manohla Dargis, New York Times, "‘The Trip to Greece’ Review: Men of Twists, Turns and Familiar Jokes," 20 May 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Ice chunks were brought down from the summits of Mounts Vesuvius and Etna to chill the food and drink of the wealthy.
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Tulasi Srinivas, CNN, "The 'clink clink" of your New Year's Eve toast has an icy backstory," 31 Dec. 2020 Ice chunks were brought down from the summits of Mounts Vesuvius and Etna to chill the food and drink of the wealthy.
—
Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, "The icy backstory to that ‘clink clink’ you’ll hear when raising a toast to the end of 2020," 23 Dec. 2020 By that time, ice had been used to chill the drinks for millennia -- but only ever for the elite.
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Tulasi Srinivas, CNN, "The 'clink clink" of your New Year's Eve toast has an icy backstory," 31 Dec. 2020 By that time, ice had been used to chill the drinks for millennia – but only ever for the elite.
—
Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, "The icy backstory to that ‘clink clink’ you’ll hear when raising a toast to the end of 2020," 23 Dec. 2020 So forget cotton, which retains moisture like a sponge and can chill your winter-fishing bones to the marrow.
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John Perritano, Popular Mechanics, "How To Get Started in Ice Fishing," 22 Dec. 2020 Flatten dough into a disk, wrap well and chill for a couple hours.
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Jane Black, WSJ, "Why Mail-Order Citrus Is Totally Worth It: A Smart Shopper’s Guide," 17 Dec. 2020 Close the fridge, plug it in and leave it to chill at its coldest setting.
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New York Times, "Make A DIY Seltzerator," 12 Dec. 2020 This is the ultimate tool to quickly chill your wine without unnecessary hassle.
—
Kiana Murden, CNN Underscored, "Know someone who loves wine? These are the gifts for them," 11 Dec. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Learn More about chill
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Cold Words for Cold Times
Cold Words for Cold Times
Maybe obscure words will warm you up.
Dictionary Entries near chill
See More Nearby EntriesStatistics for chill
Last Updated
19 Jan 2021
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Chill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chill. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.
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More Definitions for chill
chill
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of chill
(Entry 1 of 3)
: a cold feeling : a degree of cold that can be felt and that is usually unpleasant
: a feeling of being cold
: an illness that makes you feel cold
chill
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of chill (Entry 2 of 3)
somewhat formal : unpleasantly cold
chill
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of chill (Entry 3 of 3)
: to make (someone or something) cold or cool
: to become cold or cool
: to cause (someone) to feel afraid
See the full definition for chill in the English Language Learners Dictionary
chill
noun\ ˈchil \
\Kids Definition of chill
(Entry 1 of 3)
1 : coldness that is unpleasant but not extreme
There was a chill in the autumn air.
2 : a feeling of coldness accompanied by shivering
She has a fever and chills.
3 : a feeling of coldness caused by fear
The grisly sight gave me the chills.
chill
adjectiveKids Definition of chill (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : unpleasantly cold : raw Everything was damp and chill and miserable in the wagon …— Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie
2 : not friendly
a chill greeting
chill
verbchilled; chilling
Kids Definition of chill (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : to make or become cold or chilly
The wind chilled us to the bone.
2 : to make cool especially without freezing
Chill the pudding for dessert.
3 : to cause to feel cold from fear
This ghost story will chill you.
chill
noun\ ˈchil \
\Medical Definition of chill
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering
2 : a disagreeable sensation of coldness
chill
intransitive verbMedical Definition of chill (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : to become cold
b : to shiver or quake with or as if with cold
2 : to become affected with a chill
: to make cold or chilly
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chill
transitive verbLegal Definition of chill
: to discourage especially through fear of penalty : have a chilling effect on
statutes which may chill the exercise of…free expression— M. H. Redish
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Time Traveler for chill
The first known use of chill was in the 14th century
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