- 1[countable] a small round piece of medicine that you swallow without chewing it a vitamin pill Take three pills daily after meals. (informal) pill-popping (= the act of taking too many pills or using illegal drugs) see pep pill, sleeping pill
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- 2the pill, the Pill [singular] a pill that some women take to prevent them becoming pregnant the contraceptive pill to be/go on the pill see morning-after pill
- 3[countable] (informal) an annoying person Idioms
a fact or an event that is unpleasant and difficult to accept The election defeat was a bitter pill for the party to swallow.
to do something that makes an unpleasant situation seem less unpleasant synonym sugar-coat
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