pill

pill — noun

1. a small round dose you put in your mouth and swallow as medicine

1.nounB1
Definition

a small round dose you put in your mouth and swallow as medicine

Example

Dad put the vitamin pill beside my glass of water.

collocation: vitamin pill

Nina forgot her allergy pill, so she went back upstairs.

collocation: allergy pill

Common collocations
  • vitamin pill
  • allergy pill
  • take a pill
  • swallow a pill
  • give somebody a pill
Synonyms
  • tablet

    the closest technical word, especially on medicine labels

  • capsule

    usually has a soft or hard outer shell rather than a pressed solid form

  • medicine

    a much broader word that also includes liquids, creams, and injections

Grammar Patterns

take a pill

swallow a pill

a pill for pain, sleep, or allergies

Usage Note

Often used for a single small unit of medicine. Distinguish from capsule, which usually has a shell, and from medicine, which is much broader.

Common Mistakes

The doctor gave me a medicine to swallow.
The doctor gave me a pill to swallow.
use 'pill' when you mean one small solid piece, not medicine in general.

2. a medicine tablet some women take each day so they do not get pregnant

2.noun
Definition

a medicine tablet some women take each day so they do not get pregnant

Example

The doctor explained how to take the pill at the same time daily.

usual phrase: the pill

Mia kept the pill in her handbag and took it every night for birth control.

Common collocations
  • take the pill
  • go on the pill
  • miss a pill
  • the pill may cause headaches
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

take the pill

go on the pill

miss a pill

Usage Note

Usually appears as 'the pill' in everyday English. It normally means oral contraception, not just any medicine in pill form.

Common Mistakes

She takes a pill for birth control, so she is on pills.
She takes the pill, so she is on the pill.
this sense is usually singular with 'the'.

3. someone who keeps bothering other people and is tiring to be around

3.noun
Definition

someone who keeps bothering other people and is tiring to be around

Example

Everyone avoided Kyle because he could be such a pill at meetings.

informal insult: such a pill

Don't invite Ben again; he was a real pill all evening.

informal insult: a real pill

Common collocations
  • such a pill
  • a real pill
  • be a pill at meetings
Synonyms
  • nuisance

    can refer to a person, thing, or situation, so it is broader

  • pest

    suggests someone who keeps annoying you again and again

  • pain

    informal and often stronger in modern speech

Antonyms
  • delight

    an informal opposite for someone who is pleasant to be with

Grammar Patterns

be a pill

such a pill

a real pill

Usage Note

Common in informal speech and usually said about a person who is hard to deal with socially. Distinguish from nuisance, which can describe a situation or thing as well as a person.

4. a little lump of fiber that forms on cloth when the surface rubs

4.noun
Definition

a little lump of fiber that forms on cloth when the surface rubs

Example

This old sweater has pills on both sleeves after one winter.

common plural: pills on a sweater

Mara cut a pill off her coat with small scissors.

pattern: cut off a pill

Common collocations
  • pills on a sweater
  • cut off a pill
  • fabric with pills
  • pills on both sleeves
Synonyms
  • bobble

    common British clothing word for the same small fabric ball

  • lint ball

    a plain descriptive phrase, especially when the material looks loose and fuzzy

  • fuzzball

    more informal and less specific to clothing

Grammar Patterns

pills on a sweater

cut off a pill

fabric with pills

Usage Note

Often plural because fabric usually gets more than one. Distinguish from sense 1, which is medicine, by the clothing context.

Idioms

a bitter pill (for somebody) (to swallow)

idiom

Something that is very hard to accept or deal with.

Losing the championship was a bitter pill for the team to swallow.

For Sara, the rejection letter was a bitter pill to swallow.

sugar/sweeten the pill

idiom

To make an unpleasant situation seem less bad.

The company offered a bonus to sweeten the pill of pay cuts.

Maya tried to sugar the pill by praising his effort before giving criticism.

pill — verb

Word family

  • pilling
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, pill is the everyday general word for a small piece of medicine that you swallow whole. Tablet is the closest near-synonym and is often more exact on labels or in pharmacies, especially for a pressed solid shape. Capsule usually means medicine inside a shell, so it is not the best choice when the form matters. Medicine is much broader and can also mean liquid, cream, or injection. Drug is broader too, and it often sounds more medical, legal, or negative. Compare: 'Take this pill after dinner' for normal conversation, but 'Take one tablet twice a day' if you are reading package instructions.

tablet ↗capsule ↗medicine ↗drug ↗

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

English got pill in the Middle English period from French and Dutch forms that go back to Latin pilula, meaning 'little ball'. That old picture of a tiny ball explains the main medicine sense. Later English also used the word for things that look like little balls, such as the bits of fiber on cloth, and then extended it further in informal speech to an annoying person.