pill
1
[ pil ]
/ pɪl /
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to form into small, pill-like balls, as the fuzz on a wool sweater.
Compare depill.
Idioms for pill
Take a chill pill! Disparaging Slang.
chill pill(def 2).
Origin of pill
1
1375–1425; late Middle English
pille < Middle Low German, Middle Dutch
pille ≪ Latin
pilula, diminutive of
pila ball; see
-ule
Words nearby pill
piliferous,
piliform,
pilikia,
piling,
pilipino,
pill,
pill beetle,
pill bug,
pill popper,
pill pusher,
pill-rolling
British Dictionary definitions for the pill (1 of 2)
pill
1
/ (pɪl) /
noun
verb
See also
pills
Word Origin for pill
C15: from Middle Flemish
pille, from Latin
pilula a little ball, from
pila ball
British Dictionary definitions for the pill (2 of 2)
pill
2
/ (pɪl) /
verb
archaic, or dialect
to peel or skin (something)
archaic
to pillage or plunder (a place)
obsolete
to make or become bald
Word Origin for pill
Old English
pilian, from Latin
pilāre to strip
Medical definitions for the pill
pill
[ pĭl ]
n.
A small pellet or tablet of medicine, often coated, taken by swallowing whole or by chewing.
An oral contraceptive.
Cultural definitions for the pill
notes for the Pill
The Pill was introduced in the 1950s, and its possible side effects are still being investigated. It nonetheless offered an ease of use and reliability of result that no other method of contraception had ever before supplied. In this way, it contributed greatly to the
sexual revolution.
Idioms and Phrases with the pill
pill
see bitter pill to swallow; sugar the pill.