- [countable]
a small flat round piece of medicine that you swallow whole, without biting it 药丸；药片 a vitamin pill 维生素片 Take three pills daily after meals. 每天饭后吃三粒。 - (informal)
pill-popping (= the act of taking too many pills or using illegal drugs) 服药过量 The doctor prescribed her some pills to help her sleep. 医生给她开了一些有助于睡眠的药。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- diet
- sleeping
- vitamin
- …
- bottle
- pop
- swallow
- take
- …
- the pill, the Pill[singular]
a pill that some women take to prevent them becoming pregnant 口服避孕药 the contraceptive pill 避孕药丸 - on the pill
to be/go on the pill 在服用避孕药 Her doctor put her on the pill at 16. 她的医生在她 16 岁时就让她服用避孕药了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- birth-control
- contraceptive
- abortion
- …
- be on
- go on
- use
- …
- [countable] (North American English)
an annoying person 讨厌的人；讨厌鬼
Word Originnoun late Middle English: ultimately from Latin pilula ‘little ball’, diminutive of pila; compare with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pille.
Idioms
a bitter pill (for somebody) (to swallow)
a fact or an event that is unpleasant and difficult to accept 严酷的现实；（难以咽下的）苦果 The election defeat was a bitter pill for the party to swallow. 选举失败是该党难以下咽的苦果。
sugar/sweeten the pill
to do something that makes an unpleasant situation seem less unpleasant 药里加糖；缓和情况；缓解苦感