chill

views updated May 23 2018

chill / chil/ • n. [in sing.] a moderate but unpleasant coldness: there was a chill in the air. ∎  (often chills) a lowered body temperature, often accompanied by shivering. ∎  a feverish cold. ∎ fig. a coldness of manner: the sudden chill in China's relations with the West. ∎ fig. a depressing influence: his statements have cast a chill over this whole country. ∎  a sudden and powerful unpleasant feeling, esp. of fear: his words sent a chill of apprehension down my spine. ∎  a metal mold or part of a mold, often cooled, designed to ensure rapid or even cooling of metal during casting.• v. [tr.] 1. (often be chilled) make (someone) cold: I'm chilled to the bone. ∎  cool (food or drink) in a refrigerator.2. (often be chilled) horrify or frighten (someone): the city was chilled by the violence.3. (also chill out) [intr.] inf. calm down and relax. ∎  pass time without a particular aim or purpose, esp. with other people: we had a week at home and we chilled out.• adj. chilly: the chill gray dawn | fig. the chill winds of public censure. PHRASES: take the chill off warm slightly.DERIVATIVES: chill·ing·ly adv.chill·ness n.chill·some / -səm/ adj. ( poetic/lit. ).

CHILL

views updated May 14 2018

CHILL Acronym for CCITT high-level language. A programming language developed by CCITT and adopted as the standard language for the programming of computer-based telecommunication systems and computer-controlled telephone exchanges. CHILL is a real-time language, bearing a substantial resemblance to Ada.

chill

views updated May 18 2018

chill sb., adj., and vb. The earliest member of this group is the vb. (‘grow cold’), which appears in late XIV. Its orig. is obscure; in the pp. †child it may repr. an OE. *ċieldan, *ċildan (:- Gmc. *kalþjan, f. *kalþaz COLD). The adj. chill (XVI) may be an alt. of †child on the analogy of cool, cold; the sb. chill (XVII) is f. the vb.
Hence chilly XVI; see -Y 1.

CHILL

views updated May 21 2018

CHILL (tʃɪl) Computing CCITT high-level language

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