chile
English meaning: Chile
Definition
The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
Example
“He added a finely chopped chile to give the stew a fiery kick.”
Another example: “She roasted the green chiles until their skins blistered and blackened.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A noun (also spelled 'chili' (US) or 'chilli' (UK)) for the hot, pungent capsicum pepper used in cooking, fresh, dried, or powdered. Common in food and cooking contexts. Note the spelling confusion with 'Chile' (the country) and 'chilly' (cold).
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Spanish 'chile', from Nahuatl (Aztec) 'chilli', the native Mexican name for the pepper plant.
Synonyms
- chili pepper
- chilli
- capsicum
- pepper
Related Words
- alcalde
- atacama
- chilean
- pinochet
- peru
- uruguay
- paraguay
- santiago
- bolivia
- ecuador
Common Collocations
- red chile
- chile pepper
- green chile
- dried chile
- hot chile
- chile powder
Word Forms
chile/chili/chilli (n); chiles/chilies/chillies (pl)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B