chicken out

verb

chickened out; chickening out; chickens out

informal

: to decide not to do something because one is afraid

He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.

Examples of chicken out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Step 4 Using tongs, carefully lift chicken out of pot and transfer to a cutting board. — Molly Baz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

The moves caused critics to claim Trump always chickens out, or TACO, if financial markets show enough pain. — Arkansas Online, 27 Mar. 2026

Raccoons can reach through and pull chickens out through holes. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2026

If markets don't sell off violently, does Trump have any reason to chicken out? — Phil Serafino, Bloomberg, 21 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for chicken out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout