chili
noun
Simple meaning
The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
chileeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtʃɪli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
uncountable
Powdered chili pepper, used as a spice or flavouring in cooking.
chiefly us
A dish made with chili peppers and other ingredients, such as beans and beef.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
Used this way, chili is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a food and cooking use: everyday in kitchens and recipes.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Cooking/food
- Everyday conversation
Nearby words
- chile , used mainly in Regional English
- chilli , used mainly in Regional English
- chili pepper , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use chili
- “We made a big pot of spicy chili for the cold evening.”
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “chili” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.