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pill

pill

28 1.0
A small object shaped like a round tablet of medicine
  • noun
  • /pɪl/
translation icon : con forma de pastilla
  • There were pills all over.

So she also has a toothbrush pill.

Examples

  • I splashed cold water on my face and remembered to remove a tiny pill from its foil calendar and swallowed it.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Have you been taking those pills?

  • He gave her a pill.

  • I've been having a kind of bad time and I just took some sleeping pills.

  • I took a pill to relieve my headache after a long day.

  • The doctor advised me to take one pill each morning with food.

  • These pills must be stored in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.

Synonyms

tablet
vspill
53 2.5

A small solid pill you swallow for medicine

highlights physical shape or size rather than its medical use
sleeping pill
vspill
45 2.9

A tablet you take to help you fall asleep

refers to general physical form rather than specific sleeping purpose
pain pill
vspill
  • US
15 1.1

A tablet you take to make body pain less

labels items by shape or size rather than by relieving pain
tab
vspill
  • US
7 4.0

A small solid piece of medicine to swallow

refers to shape or size rather than specific medicine purpose
vitamin pill
vspill
2 1.6

A small pill taken to give your body extra vitamins for health

describes the small tablet shape or size rather than vitamin content
water pill
vspill
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A medicine that makes you pass more urine to remove extra water from your body

focuses on physical resemblance in shape or size not its medical effect
caplet
vspill
1 3.5

A small smooth pill shaped like a capsule that is easy to swallow

describes mere resemblance in shape or size rather than coating or swallowing ease
1 2.8

A small pill that helps you sleep

speaks about shape or size similarity not its sleep function
3.5

A small pill that you take to help you sleep

focuses on general shape similarity rather than the drug's purpose
3.0

A small pill that has many vitamins people take every day

refers to items by their small tablet shape rather than supplement content

Idioms

20 6.1

A woman who takes a daily birth-control tablet to prevent pregnancy

2 6.8

An unpleasant fact or event that is hard to accept

1 6.2

Make an unpleasant thing seem easier to accept by adding something pleasant

To suddenly behave in a silly way that other people find odd

To accept a painful truth that changes what you believed

Compounds

45 2.9

A tablet you take to help you fall asleep

birth control pill
  • Specialized
33 2.7

A small medicine tablet with hormones a woman takes to prevent pregnancy

15 1.1

A tablet you take to make body pain less

A pill you take after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy

6 1.6

A small plastic or glass container that holds pills

abortion pill
  • Specialized
4 4.9

A drug taken to end an early pregnancy without surgery

pill mill
  • NSFW
3 8.9

A clinic that illegally prescribes many pain pills for profit

poison pill
  • Jargon
3 7.9

To make it hard for another company to take control by making the company's shares less attractive

2 1.6

A small pill taken to give your body extra vitamins for health

A small pill you take to stop pregnancy

water pill
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A medicine that makes you pass more urine to remove extra water from your body

red pill
  • Jargon
1 8.6

To choose to learn an unpleasant truth about the world

A pill sold to help men have better sexual performance

1 3.7

A pill taken by mouth that prevents a woman from becoming pregnant

pep pill
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A pill that makes you more alert and less tired

pill head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who often takes illegal pills to get high

A small pill that has many vitamins people take every day

horse pill
  • Informal
8.7

A very hard thing to accept or deal with

peaceful pill
  • Informal
6.8

Something that makes you feel calm when you are worried

pill pusher
  • Offensive
9.2

A person like a doctor or pharmacist who gives medicines to patients

pill pusher
  • Offensive
9.7

A person who illegally sells drugs to others

A person who prepares and gives medicines, usually a pharmacist

6.0

A small land animal that rolls into a ball when touched

Pill Hill
  • Informal
7.2

A neighborhood with many hospitals and medical clinics

pill in the pocket
  • Specialized
6.4

A way to carry medicine to take when symptoms begin

suicide pill
  • Jargon
8.2

A planned action by a company to make itself less attractive to a buyer even if it harms the company

How Small

coin
499 1.0
marble
58 1.0
pill
28 1.0
bead
14 4.1
seed
405 1.0

Surface Forms

pill singular
pills plural

Etymology

Pill in the sense 'something shaped like a small tablet' comes from the same root pila 'ball', so it simply describes anything the size or shape of a small medicine tablet.