variants or less commonly chile or chiefly British chilli
plural chilies also chiles or chilis or chiefly British chillies
1
a
or chili pepper : a hot pepper of any of a group of cultivars (Capsicum annuum annuum group longum) noted for their pungency
b
chiefly British chilli : a pepper whether hot or sweet
2
a
: a thick sauce of meat and chilies
liked to cover her spaghetti with red chili
b
: chili con carne
a bowl of chili
also : a similar dish made without beef
vegetarian chili
seafood chili

Examples of chili in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This collection brings together a pitmaster’s chili recipe, two classic game day dips, and a delicious corn and avocado salad. Nick Siano, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2025 Watch this video for tips on how to make sweet and savory chili cheese corn dogs. Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025 Except for that last one, everything benefits from a dip in the housemade chili oil. Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025 The selections are: First course: Cheesy bread, shrimp scampi, chili lime taco or sweet brown sugar BBQ meatballs. Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 21 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for chili 

Word History

Etymology

Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chīlli

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of chili was in 1604

Dictionary Entries Near chili

Cite this Entry

“Chili.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chili. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

chili

noun
variants also chile or chilli
ˈchil-ē
plural chilies also chiles or chilis or chillies

Geographical Definition

Chili

geographical name

former, especially British name for Chile or for the once poorly defined Andes border region between Chile and Argentina

More from Merriam-Webster on chili

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