pill

UK: /ˈpɪl/ US: /pɪl/ ,(pil)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pill¹ /pɪl/   n. [countable]

1. Drugs a small tablet or capsule of medicine:
   Take two of these pills at bedtime.
2. something unpleasant that has to be accepted or suffered through:
   Being denied promotion was a bitter pill for her to swallow.
3. Slang Terms a tiresomely disagreeable person.
4. Drugs the pill, an oral contraceptive for women:
   Because she was on the pill, she didn't expect to get pregnant.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pill¹  (pil), n. 

1. Drugs a small globular or rounded mass of medicinal substance, usually covered with a hard coating, that is to be swallowed whole.
2. something unpleasant that has to be accepted or endured:
   Ingratitude is a bitter pill.
3. Slang Terms a tiresomely disagreeable person.
4. Sport a ball, esp. a baseball or golf ball.
5. Drugs the pill. See birth-control pill. 
6. British Terms pills, billiards.

v.t. 

7. Drugs to dose with pills.
8. to form or make into pills.
9. Slang Terms to blackball.

v.i. 

10. Textiles to form into small, pill-like balls, as the fuzz on a wool sweater.

• Middle Low German, Middle Dutch pille Latin pilula, diminutive of pila ball; see -ule
• late Middle English pille 1375–1425

pill²  (pil), v.t., v.i. 

1. British Terms to peel.
2. [Obs.] to become or cause to become bald.

• Latin pilāre to strip (said of hair). See pile³
• Middle English pilen, Old English pilian to skin, peel bef. 1100

pill³  (pil), v.t. [Archaic.]

1. to rob, plunder, or pillage.

• 1150–1200; Middle English; probably conflation of pill² with Middle French piller (see pillage)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pill / pɪl/ noun

1. a small spherical or ovoid mass of a medicinal substance, intended to be swallowed whole
2. the pill ⇒ (sometimes capital) an oral contraceptive
3. something unpleasant that must be endured (esp in the phrase bitter pill to swallow)
4. a ball or disc
5. a small ball of matted fibres that forms on the surface of a fabric through rubbing
6. an unpleasant or boring person

verb

1. (transitive) to give pills to
2. (transitive) to make pills of
3. (intransitive) to form into small balls
4. (of a fabric) to form small balls of fibre on its surface through rubbing
5. (transitive) to blackball

Etymology: 15th Century: from Middle Flemish pille, from Latin pilula a little ball, from pila ball

pill / pɪl/ verb

1. to peel or skin (something)
2. to pillage or plunder (a place)
3. to make or become bald

Etymology: Old English pilian, from Latin pilāre to strip