chill: Meaning and Definition of

chill

Pronunciation: (chil), [key]
— n.
  1. coldness, esp. a moderate but uncomfortably penetrating coldness: the chill of evening.
  2. a sensation of cold, usually with shivering: She felt a slight chill from the open window.
  3. a feeling of sudden fear, anxiety, or alarm.
  4. sudden coldness of the body, as during the cold stage of an ague: fevers and chills.
  5. a depressing influence or sensation: His presence cast a chill over everyone.
  6. lack of warmth of feeling; unfriendliness; coolness.
  7. an inserted object or a surface in a mold capable of absorbing large amounts of heat, used to harden the surface of a casting or to increase its rate of solidification at a specific point.
  8. bloom (def. 10).
—adj.
  1. moderately cold; tending to cause shivering; chilly: a chill wind.
  2. shivering with or affected by cold; chilly.
  3. depressing or discouraging: chill prospects.
  4. cool (def. 14).
  5. unduly formal; unfriendly; chilly: a chill reception.
—v.i.
  1. to become cold: The earth chills when the sun sets.
  2. to be seized with a chill; shiver with cold or fear.
  3. (of a casting) to become hard on the surface by contact with a chill or chills.
—v.t.
  1. to affect with cold; make chilly: The rain has chilled me to the bone.
  2. to make cool: Chill the wine before serving.
  3. to depress; discourage; deter: The news chilled his hopes.
  4. to harden the surface of (a casting) by casting it in a mold having a chill or chills.
  5. bloom (def. 19).
  6. to kill; murder.
  7. to calm down; relax.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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