/ tʃɪl; NAmE / noun , verb , adjective
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] a feeling of being cold :
There's a chill in the air this morning.
A small fire was burning to take the chill off the room.
2.
[ C ] an illness caused by being cold and wet, causing fever and shivering (= shaking of the body)
3.
[ sing. ] a feeling of fear :
a chill of fear / apprehension
His words sent a chill down her spine .
■ verb
1.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to make sb very cold :
They were chilled by the icy wind.
Let's go home, I'm chilled to the bone (= very cold) .
2.
when food or a drink chills or when sb chills it, it is made very cold but it does not freeze :
[ v ]
Let the pudding chill for an hour until set.
[ vn ]
This wine is best served chilled.
chilled foods (= for example in a supermarket)
3.
[ vn ] ( literary ) to frighten sb :
His words chilled her.
What he saw chilled his blood / chilled him to the bone .
4.
[ v ] ( informal ) to spend time relaxing :
We went home and chilled in front of the TV.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- chill out
■ adjective
( formal ) ( especially of weather and the wind ) cold, in an unpleasant way :
the chill grey dawn
a chill wind
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English cele , ciele cold, coldness , of Germanic origin; related to cold .