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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

pill

/pɪl/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does pill mean?

noun

  1. A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
  2. Such an object that is of solid constitution (usually of compressed, bonded powder) rather than a capsule (with a shell containing loose powder or liquid).
  3. (informal) Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.
More meanings (22)

noun

  1. Something offensive, unpleasant or nauseous which must be accepted or endured.
  2. (slang) A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.
  3. (slang) A comical or entertaining person.
  4. A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibers formed on the surface of a textile fabric by rubbing.
  5. (slang) A baseball.
  6. (slang) A bullet (projectile).
  7. A rounded rectangle containing a brief text caption indicating the tag or category that an item belongs to.
  8. An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay. Pill can occur in the name of such an inlet.
  9. (obsolete) The peel or skin.

verb

  1. Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.
  2. To form into the shape of a pill.
  3. To medicate with pills; to administer pills to.
  4. To take recreational drugs in pill form.
  5. To persuade or convince someone of something.
  6. To peel; to make by removing the skin.
  7. To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.
  8. (dated, slang) To blackball (a potential club member).
  9. (obsolete) To peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.
  10. (obsolete) To pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

proper noun

  1. A village in Pill and Easton-in-Gordano parish, North Somerset district, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST5275).
  2. A municipality of Tyrol, Austria.
  3. A surname.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/pɪl/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“It will take all his gold to gild a pill like him, that’s what,” said Mrs. Rachel solemnly.
L. M. (Lucy Maud) MontgomeryAnne of the IslandProject Gutenberg ebook #51
To him blue pill and muriatic acid are superfluous, and travels to German Brunnen a waste of time.
Charles KingsleyGlaucus; Or, The Wonders of the ShoreProject Gutenberg ebook #695
More book examples (2)
The collected ruins form a pill which the Spider consumes with the same greed that she would show in swallowing her prey.
Jean-Henri FabreThe Life of the SpiderTranslated by Alexander Teixeira de MattosProject Gutenberg ebook #1887
“You’re no wiser than the rest of us, are you? But let us make a wish at once. Who will swallow the first pill?”
L. Frank (Lyman Frank) BaumThe Marvelous Land of OzProject Gutenberg ebook #54