Skip to main content
PlainSpell

pill

/pɪl/noun, verb

pill is spelled P-I-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pill means “A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pill is pills.

How many letters and syllables are in pill?

Letters4: P-I-L-L
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is pill?

Pill appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce pill?

  • /pɪl/
  • [pʰɪɫ]

Pill has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-pill.ogg, En-us-pill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of pill

  • pills plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • p1ll
  • pilling participle, present
  • pilled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pill mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.

  2. 2

    Such an object that is of solid constitution (usually of compressed, bonded powder) rather than a capsule (with a shell containing loose powder or liquid).

  3. 3

    informalContraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.

    Jane went on the pill when she left for college.

  4. 4

    Something offensive, unpleasant or nauseous which must be accepted or endured.

    "It's a sad unpalatable truth," said Mr. Pembroke, thinking that the despondency might be personal, "but one must accept it. My sister and Gerald, I am thankful to say, have accepted it, so naturally it has been a little pill."

  5. 5

    slangA contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.

  6. 6

    slangA comical or entertaining person.

  7. 7

    A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibers formed on the surface of a textile fabric by rubbing.

  8. 8

    slangA baseball.

  9. 9

    UKAn inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay. Pill can occur in the name of such an inlet.

  10. 10

    obsoleteThe peel or skin.

verb

  1. 1

    Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.

    This sweater is already pilled: it fuzzed after the very first wash.

  2. 2

    To form into the shape of a pill.

    Pilling is a skill rarely used by modern pharmacists.

  3. 3

    To medicate with pills; to administer pills to.

    She pills herself with all sorts of herbal medicines.

  4. 4

    To take recreational drugs in pill form.

  5. 5

    To persuade or convince someone of something.

  6. 6

    UKdatedslangTo blackball (a potential club member).

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.

  8. 8

    To peel; to make by removing the skin.

  9. 9

    To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.

  10. 10

    obsoleteTo pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpilule, comprimé (small object for swallowing), pilule contraceptive (contraceptive pill), dragée, balle (bullet), boulocher (to form small matted balls of fiber)
GermanTablette, Pille (small object for swallowing), Fussel (ball of fibres formed on the surface of a…)
Portuguesecomprimido, pílula (small object for swallowing), borboto (ball of fibres formed on the surface of a…)
Spanishpíldora, pastilla, comprimido, tableta (small object for swallowing), píldora anticonceptiva (contraceptive pill), frisado (ball of fibres formed on the surface of a…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does pill come from?

From Middle English pille (also pillem), a borrowing from Middle Low German pille or Middle Dutch pille (whence Dutch pil), probably from Latin pila, pilula.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after pill