Chill means to relax and take it easy without doing anything in particular; its second meaning is to calm down and not get worked up: Chill, it's fine. Chill out means the same, and the adjective chill describes a calm, easy-going person: He's really chill. The word is friendly, for conversation and texts; in an email to a teacher or boss, in an essay or IELTS Speaking, say relax, and about a person, easy-going.
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chill (out) + at home/with friends; just chilling; Chill, + it's fine; be chill about + thing
- What are you up to? — Nothing much, just chilling at home with a film.
- Chill, the train leaves in twenty minutes, we've got loads of time.
- My new flatmate is really chill about guests and noise.
What changed
First versionDear Ms Collins, thank you for the day off. I'm going to chill a bit before the conference.
RevisionDear Ms Collins, thank you for the day off. I'm going to rest a bit before the conference.
The email is to Ms Collins, who gave you the day off, so it's correspondence with your manager. Chill sounds too laid-back for this reader. Rest simply says that you'll take a break.
Don't confuse chill and chilly. The adjective chill describes a person or an atmosphere: The party was really chill. For cool weather, say chilly: It's a bit chilly tonight, take a jacket.
Your turn
The exam has been moved to next week, so tonight we can finally ___ instead of revising.
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chill — The exam has been moved, so the evening can be spent without studying: relaxing, taking it easy, in other words chill. Also, after can you need a verb, and chilly is an adjective meaning cold, used about the weather.
Text a friend about how you'll spend the coming weekend. Say where you'll be relaxing and who with.
This weekend I'm just going to chill at my parents' place with my sister and our dog.
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