chill Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun coldness due to a cold environment
    iciness; gelidity.
  2. noun an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
    frisson; quiver; thrill; shudder; shiver; tingle.
    • a frisson of surprise shot through him
  3. noun a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever
    shivering.
  4. noun a sudden numbing dread
    pall.
  5. verb depress or discourage
    • The news of the city's surrender chilled the soldiers
  6. verb make cool or cooler
    cool down; cool.
    • Chill the food
  7. verb loose heat
    cool down; cool.
    • The air cooled considerably after the thunderstorm

WordNet

Chill noun
Etymology
AS. cele, cyle, from the same root as celan, calan, to be cold; akin to D. kil cold, coldness, Sw. kyla to chill, and E. cool. See Cold, and cf. Cool.
Definitions
  1. A moderate but disagreeable degree of cold; a disagreeable sensation of coolness, accompanied with shivering. "[A] wintry chill." W. Irving.
  2. (Med.) A sensation of cold with convulsive shaking of the body, pinched face, pale skin, and blue lips, caused by undue cooling of the body or by nervous excitement, or forming the precursor of some constitutional disturbance, as of a fever.
  3. A check to enthusiasm or warmth of feeling; discouragement; as, a chill comes over an assemblly.
  4. An iron mold or portion of a mold, serving to cool rapidly, and so to harden, the surface of molten iron brought in contact with it. Raymond.
  5. The hardened part of a casting, as the tread of a car wheel. Knight.
Chill adjective
Definitions
  1. Moderately cold; tending to cause shivering; chilly; raw.
    Noisome winds, and blasting vapors chill. Milton.
  2. Affected by cold. "My veins are chill." Shak.
  3. Characterized by coolness of manner, feeling, etc.; lacking enthusiasm or warmth; formal; distant; as, a chill reception.
  4. Discouraging; depressing; dispiriting.
Chill transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Chilled present participle & verbal noun Chilling
Definitions
  1. To strike with a chill; to make chilly; to cause to shiver; to affect with cold.
    When winter chilled the day. Goldsmith.
  2. To check enthusiasm or warmth of feeling of; to depress; to discourage.
    Every thought on God chills the gayety of his spirits. Rogers.
  3. (Metal.) To produce, by sudden cooling, a change of crystallization at or near the surface of, so as to increase the hardness; said of cast iron.
Chill intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Metal.) To become surface-hardened by sudden cooling while solidifying; as, some kinds of cast iron chill to a greater depth than others.

Webster 1913