PILL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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pill

[ pil ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a small globular or rounded mass of medicinal substance, usually covered with a hard coating, that is to be swallowed whole.
something unpleasant that has to be accepted or endured:
Ingratitude is a bitter pill.
Slang. a tiresomely disagreeable person.
Sports Slang. a ball, especially a baseball or golf ball.
the pill. birth-control pill.
pills, British Slang. billiards.

verb (used with object)

to dose with pills.
to form or make into pills.
Slang. to blackball.

verb (used without object)

to form into small, pill-like balls, as the fuzz on a wool sweater. Compare depill.

pill

[ pil ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with or without object)

British Dialect. to peel.
Obsolete. to become or cause to become bald.

pill

[ pil ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

to rob, plunder, or pillage.

pill

/ ��ɪ�� /

noun

a small spherical or ovoid mass of a medicinal substance, intended to be swallowed whole
the pill informal.
sometimes capital an oral contraceptive
something unpleasant that must be endured (esp in the phrase bitter pill to swallow )
slang.
a ball or disc
a small ball of matted fibres that forms on the surface of a fabric through rubbing
slang.
an unpleasant or boring person

verb

tr to give pills to
tr to make pills of
intr
1. to form into small balls
2. (of a fabric) to form small balls of fibre on its surface through rubbing
slang.
tr to blackball

pill

/ ��ɪ�� /

verb

archaic.
to peel or skin (something)
archaic.
to pillage or plunder (a place)
obsolete.
to make or become bald

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of pill¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English pille, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch pille, Old French pile, from Latin pilula “little ball, globule, pellet,” diminutive of pila “b��”; -ule

Origin of pill²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English pilen “to rob, steal, plunder,” Old English pilian “to skin, peel,” from Latin �辱�� “to pluck, remove (hair or feathers)” pile ³

Origin of pill³

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pile(n), pille(n), pilie(n), probably conflation of pill ² with Middle French piller, peler ( pillage )

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of pill¹

C15: from Middle Flemish pille, from Latin pilula a little ball, from pila ball

Origin of pill²

Old English pilian, from Latin �辱�� to strip

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Idioms and Phrases

Take a chill pill! Disparaging Slang. chill pill ( def 2 ).

More idioms and phrases containing pill

see bitter pill to swallow ; sugar the pill .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Megan began taking more and more, combining the pills with other drugs, such as cocaine.

From

It’s so ingrained in the public psyche — everyone is always talking about “I’m going down the rabbit hole” or “red pill, blue pill.”

From

And in the last gasps of a season that once seemed destined for something special, that was a particularly difficult pill for Smith and her teammates to swallow.

From

A woman who has a daughter with a life-limiting condition said Mother's Day would be special, although becoming her carer was "a hard pill to swallow".

From

And the deal includes a plan – announced on Sunday – to enable women to get the morning-after pill for free from pharmacies.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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