chilli

American

[chil-ee] / ˈtʃɪl i /

noun

plural

chillies

Chiefly British. variant of chili.

chilli British

/ ˈtʃɪlɪ /

noun

the small red hot-tasting pod of a type of capsicum used for flavouring sauces, pickles, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of chilli

C17: from Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chilli

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"I've seen it on Tik Tok for a while and I just really wanted to try it. I'm having garlic butter, cheese and chilli."

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

The liquid is believed to be a type of home-made chilli spray with no strong acid or alkaline ingredients, police added.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2025

Why not try to cook a bean chilli, chickpea curry, or tempeh stir-fry?

From Salon • Dec. 3, 2024

One of the snacks we do is a smoked beef snack with seasonal fish and a poppy seed tart with salted citrus and chilli.

From Salon • Oct. 23, 2024

I’d done grilled prawns with lots of chilli and coriander, and we were drinking this delicious Chenin Blanc that he’d been given by a grateful client.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023