pill

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Hospital

pill1 /pɪl/ ●●● S3 noun  1  [countable]MH a small solid piece of medicine that you swallow whole 药丸，药片 He has to take pills to control his blood pressure. 他必须服药控制血压。 sleeping pills 安眠药 a bottle of vitamin pills 一瓶维生素片2  the Pill/the pill SYMIa pill taken regularly by some women in order to prevent them having babies 〔女用〕口服避孕药on the Pill My doctor advised me to go on the pill (=start taking it regularly). 我的医生建议我口服避孕药。3. sugar/sweeten the pill NICEto do something to make an unpleasant job or situation less unpleasant for the person who has to accept it 给药丸加糖衣，把苦差事变得更容易接受4  be a pill American English informalANNOY if someone, especially a child, is a pill, they are annoying 是令人讨厌的人〔尤指小孩〕 Luke can be a real pill sometimes. 卢克有时候真是个讨厌鬼。 → a bitter pill (to swallow) at bitter1(7), → morning-after pilln COLLOCATIONSverbstake a pill (=use it by swallowing it)Have you taken your pills?swallow a pillHe swallowed a handful of pills.pop a pill informal (=take one too easily, without thinking about it seriously)Some people just pop a pill to get a good night's sleep.a doctor prescribes pills (=tells someone to take them)Her doctor just prescribed more pills and told her to take it easy.NOUN + pilla sleeping pillI took a sleeping pill and tried to go back to sleep.malaria pills (=pills that prevent malaria)vitamin pillsdiet pills (=pills that are said to help you become thinner)

Examples from the Corpus

pill• Do not accept pills or medicines from anyone but your own doctor or the doctor at the clinic.• There are several kinds of contraceptive pills available, and they act in slightly different ways.• I took a couple of pills for my stuffy nose.• The therapy requires dozens of pills a day and to stop even for a short time allows the virus to rebound.• Hannah's being a real pill today.• Not only do sleeping pills impair the function of sleep, they also affect the way you feel the next day.• sleeping pills• Taking pills or powders for headaches and stomach upsets is only adding to your system's toxicity.• Healers who use their hands rather than pills and potions are still treated with scepticism.• Council officials had said earlier the pill would be on the market by mid-1997.take pills• I thought if I do the exercises and take pills and special herbs I will abort the baby, but nothing worked.• A Healthier Prescription Not all physicians who treat fat people encourage them to diet, take pills, or have surgery.• He took pills to get to sleep.• Pretty soon you get patients who are no longer taking pills.• Or do you go through a rigmarole of inserting diaphragms or taking pills?• She don't sleep too well, and she gets bad dreams even though she takes pills and that to help her sleep.• They take pills, they cut their wrists, they stick a pistol in their mouth.• She's sleeping much better now, and she don't have to take pills no more.pill2 verb [intransitive] American English  if a piece of clothing pills, especially a sweater, it forms little balls on the surface of the cloth after it has been worn or washed 〔衣物〕起球，结绒→ See Verb tableOrigin pill (1400-1500) Latin pilula, from pila “ball”

pill1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1pill2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese  

a solid of small piece medicine Corpus

pill

I

pill¹ S3 /pɪl/ noun
1. [countable] a small solid piece of medicine that you swallow whole:
    He has to take pills to control his blood pressure.
    sleeping pills
    a bottle of vitamin pills
2. the Pill/the pill a pill taken regularly by some women in order to prevent them having babies
    on the Pill
    My doctor advised me to go on the pill (=start taking it regularly).
3. sugar/sweeten the pill to do something to make an unpleasant job or situation less unpleasant for the person who has to accept it
4. be a pill American English informal if someone, especially a child, is a pill, they are annoying:
    Luke can be a real pill sometimes.
⇨ a bitter pill (to swallow) at bitter¹(7), ⇨ morning-after pill
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ take a pill (=use it by swallowing it) Have you taken your pills?
   ▪ swallow a pill He swallowed a handful of pills.
   ▪ pop a pill informal (=take one too easily, without thinking about it seriously) Some people just pop a pill to get a good night's sleep.
   ▪ a doctor prescribes pills (=tells someone to take them) Her doctor just prescribed more pills and told her to take it easy.
■ NOUN + pill
   ▪ a sleeping pill I took a sleeping pill and tried to go back to sleep.
   ▪ malaria pills (=pills that prevent malaria)
   ▪ vitamin pills
   ▪ diet pills (=pills that are said to help you become thinner)
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ medicine noun [uncountable and countable] a substance used for treating illness: Certain medicines should not be taken with alcohol. | Has he taken his medicine?
   ▪ pill noun [countable] a small piece of medicine that you swallow: She managed to swallow the pill with a sip of water. | The doctor gave him some pills. | sleeping pills | diet pills | contraceptive pills
   ▪ tablet noun [countable] especially British English a small piece of solid medicine: She's now on four tablets a day. | a five-day course of tablets | sleeping tablets | anti-malaria tablets
   ▪ antibiotics/aspirin/codeine etc: The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics. | Why don’t you take some aspirin? | The tablets contain codeine, which is unsuitable for people with asthma.
   ▪ capsule noun [countable] a small tube-shaped container with medicine inside that you swallow whole: a bottle of 500 capsules of vitamin C | I advised her to take four to six garlic capsules a day for the duration of the treatment.
   ▪ caplet noun [countable] a small smooth pill that is slightly longer than it is wide - used especially on bottles and containers: In small type, the consumer is warned not to take more than one caplet per day.
   ▪ eye/ear drops liquid medicine that you put into your eye or ear: Remember — if you 're using eye drops for your hay fever, leave your contact lenses out.
   ▪ cream noun [uncountable and countable] especially British English (also lotion especially American English) a thick smooth substance containing medicine, that you put on your skin: an antibiotic cream | antiseptic cream | skin cream
   ▪ drug noun [countable] a medicine or a substance for making medicines: a drug used to treat malaria | There are a wide range of different drugs on the market.
   ▪ dosage noun [countable usually singular] the amount of medicine that you should take at one time: The dosage should be reduced to 0.5 mg. | It’s important to get the dosage right.
   ▪ medication noun [uncountable and countable] medicine or drugs given to someone who is ill: He takes medication for his diabetes. | She’s on medication (=taking medication), having suffered from depression for a number of years.

II

pill² verb [intransitive] American English
if a piece of clothing pills, especially a sweater, it forms little balls on the surface of the cloth after it has been worn or washed