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chill (chĭl)
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n.
1. A moderate but penetrating coldness.
2. A sensation of coldness, often accompanied by shivering and pallor of the skin.
3. A checking or dampening of enthusiasm, spirit, or joy: bad news that put a chill on the celebration.
4. A sudden numbing fear or dread.
adj.
1. Moderately cold; chilly: a chill wind.
2. Not warm and friendly; distant: a chill greeting.
3. Discouraging; dispiriting: “Chill penury repressed their noble rage” (Thomas Gray).
4. Slang Calm or relaxed: “As my meditation routine grew more stable...my already laid-back demeanor grew positively chill” (David Gelles).
v. chilled, chill·ing, chills
v. tr.
1. To affect with or as if with cold.
2. To lower in temperature; cool.
3. To make discouraged; dispirit.
4. Metallurgy To harden (a metallic surface) by rapid cooling.
v. intr.
1. To be seized with cold.
2. To become cold or set: jelly that chills quickly.
3. Metallurgy To become hard by rapid cooling.
4. Slang
a. To calm down or relax. Often used with out.
b. To pass time idly; loiter.
c. To spend time with someone in a relaxed manner; hang out together.

[Middle English chile, from Old English cele; see gel- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

chilling·ly adv.
chillness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.