pill

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually…

   A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.

   • Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of intermittent fever, until eight are taken.
2. 2

   Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman

   Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.

   • Jane went on the pill when she left for college.
   • She got pregnant one month after going off the pill.
   • I'm tearing down your brooder house / 'Cause now I've got the pill
3. 3

   Something offensive, unpleasant or nauseous which must be accepted or endured.

   • "It's a sad unpalatable truth," said Mr. Pembroke, thinking that the despondency might be personal, "but one must accept it. My sister and Gerald, I am thankful to say, have accepted it, so naturally it has been a little pill."
4. ›+ 19 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.

      • You see, he's egging Phyllis on to marry Wilbert Cream. [...] And when a man like that eggs, something has to give, especially when the girl's a pill like Phyllis, who always does what Daddy tells her.
      • Instead, I saw a woman in her mid-fifties, who was a real pill; while all the others had managed a decent “So pleased,” or even a plain “Hello,” Ginger just inclined her head, as if she was doing a Queen Mary imitation.
   2. 5

      A comical or entertaining person.

   3. 6

      A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibers formed on the surface of a…

      A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibers formed on the surface of a textile fabric by rubbing.

      • One sleeve, threadbare and loaded with what my mother called “sweater pills,” hung halfway to the floor.
   4. 7

      A baseball.

      • "Strike two!" bawled the umpire. I threw the pill back to Tom with a heart which drummed above the noise of the rooters along the side lines.
      • Mr. Fisher contributed to the Sox effort when he threw the pill past second baseman Rath after Felsch hit him a comebacker.
   5. 8

      A bullet (projectile).

   6. 9

      A rounded rectangle containing a brief text caption indicating the tag or category that…

      A rounded rectangle containing a brief text caption indicating the tag or category that an item belongs to.

   7. 10

      Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.

      • This sweater is already pilled: it fuzzed after the very first wash.
      • During processing, inferior short fibers (which can cause pilling and itching) are removed to enhance the natural softness of the yarn and to improve its wash-and-wear performance.
   8. 11

      To form into the shape of a pill.

      • Pilling is a skill rarely used by modern pharmacists.
   9. 12

      To medicate with pills

      To medicate with pills; to administer pills to.

      • She pills herself with all sorts of herbal medicines.
      • Pilling the cat is such a nightmare.
   10. 13

       To persuade or convince someone of something.

   11. 14

       To blackball (a potential club member).

       • “I pilled him because he is a liar,” said Thackeray. “He calls himself 'ill' when he isn't.”
   12. 15

       To peel

       To peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.

   13. 16

       To be peeled

       To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.

   14. 17

       To pillage

       To pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

       • The Galles and thoſe pilling Briggandines, That yeerely ſaile to the Uenetian goulfe, And houer in the ſtraightes for Chriſtians wracke, Shall lie at anchor in the Iſle Aſant.
       • And there by her were poured forth at fill, As if, this to adorne, she all the rest did pill
   15. 18

       The peel or skin.

       • Some be covered with crusts or hard pills, as the locust
       • To make Sallet of Lemon pill, or green Citron. You must have your Lemon Pill preserved very green, Rasp it into a Dish, and raise it up lightly with a Fork […]
   16. 19

       An inlet on the coast

       An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay. Pill can occur in the name of such an inlet.

   17. 20

       A village in Pill and Easton-in-Gordano parish, North Somerset district, Somerset,…

       A village in Pill and Easton-in-Gordano parish, North Somerset district, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST5275).

   18. 21

       A municipality of Tyrol, Austria.

   19. 22

       A surname.

The neighborhood

• synonymtabletsmall object for swallowing