chill

1 of 2

adjective

sometimes chiller; sometimes chillest

1

a

: moderately cold

b

: cold, raw

2

: affected by cold

chill travelers

3

: distant, formal

a chill reception

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

chillness noun

chillness

2 of 2

noun

chill·​ness

-lnə̇s

plural -es

: chilliness

Synonyms of chill

Adjective

• icy
• chilly
• cold
• frigid
• cool

Examples of chill in a Sentence

Adjective

The chill weather kept us indoors.

were met with a chill gaze when they arrived home late from the party

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Start the day with a slice of fresh-out-the-oven croissant loaf at Rockaway Beach Bakery, a chill neighborhood spot founded by pastry chef Tracy Obolsky. —Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2026

Bottled at 46%, non-chill filtered. —Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

There are some sci-fi twists, though, including a unique plant splicing machine that turns you into more of a bioengineer than a farmer, but the general vibe is chill. —Keith Langston, Space.com, 31 May 2026

This whiskey was made from the same mashbill, aged for a full decade, and bottled at 100 proof without chill filtration to preserve maximum flavor. —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 22 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing chill

• a chill down your spine
• a chill/shiver runs up/down someone's spine
• caught a chill
• 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