An easy way to think about "chill" is that it's a state of being relaxed and calm. When you chill out, you feel more at peace.
You often hear people say they need to chill for a bit, meaning they want to take it easy and not do anything too stressful or intense. This could be after a long day at work or school when you're feeling overwhelmed. You might also see friends chill together on the weekend by watching movies, playing video games, or just hanging out in a park. In this case, "chill" means enjoying each other's company without any pressure or urgency. If someone tells you to chill out, they're probably trying to calm you down when you're getting too worked up about something.
How common is "chill"?
Word chill is considered uncommon in modern English. It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions
noun
A moderate, but uncomfortable and penetrating coldness.
Example: There was a chill in the air.
A sudden penetrating sense of cold, especially one that causes a brief trembling nerve response through the body; the trembling response itself; often associated with illness: fevers and chills, or susceptibility to illness.
Example: Close the window or you'll catch a chill. I felt a chill when the wind picked up.
An uncomfortable and numbing sense of fear, dread, anxiety, or alarm, often one that is sudden and usually accompanied by a trembling nerve response resembling the body's response to biting cold.
Example: Despite the heat, he felt a chill as he entered the crime scene. The actor's eerie portrayal sent chills through the audience. His menacing presence cast a chill over everyone.
An iron mould or portion of a mould, serving to cool rapidly, and so to harden, the surface of molten iron brought in contact with it.
The hardened part of a casting, such as the tread of a carriage wheel.
A lack of warmth and cordiality; unfriendliness.
Calmness; equanimity.
A sense of style; trendiness; savoir faire.
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verb
To lower the temperature of something; to cool
Example: Chill before serving.
To become cold
Example: In the wind he chilled quickly.
To harden a metal surface by sudden cooling
To become hard by rapid cooling
To relax, lie back
Example: Chill, man, we've got a whole week to do it; no sense in getting worked up.
To "hang", hang out; to spend time with another person or group. Also chill out.
Example: Hey, we should chill this weekend.
To smoke marijuana
Example: On Friday night do you wanna chill?
To discourage, depress
Example: Censorship chills public discourse.
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adjective
Moderately cold or chilly.
Example: A chill wind was blowing down the street.
Unwelcoming; not cordial.
Example: Arriving late at the wedding, we were met with a chill reception.
Calm, relaxed, easygoing.
Example: Paint-your-own ceramics studios are a chill way to express yourself while learning more about your date's right brain.
"Cool"; meeting a certain hip standard or garnering the approval of a certain peer group.
