chicken out
phrasal 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
Dinners, too, got better, healthier, with the ability to take chicken out of the freezer day-of, wash and prep veggies while listening in on a meeting, or quickly run to the store for an ingredient.
—
Rachel Wallace, Architectural Digest, 22 Dec. 2025
Redfish Lake Lodge employee Taryn Smith didn’t chicken out.
—Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 19 Dec. 2025
Rotisserie Chicken There might be cheaper rotisserie chickens out there, but the ones at Publix are consistently well-cooked and come in a variety of flavors like lemon-pepper and mojo.
—Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2025
Back then, many in China were confident that Trump would chicken out.
—Zack Cooper, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Turn the burner off, carefully lift the chicken out of the broth, and let cool.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
The reversal in favor of optimism this morning suggests investors now think Trump will eventually chicken out and Washington and Beijing will come to a deal.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
Lightly pound chicken out to 1/4-inch thick.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
New York — Wall Street traders embraced the term TACO — Trump always chickens out — earlier this year to describe President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again position on tariffs.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025
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Rachel Wallace, Architectural Digest, 22 Dec. 2025
Redfish Lake Lodge employee Taryn Smith didn’t chicken out.
—Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 19 Dec. 2025
Rotisserie Chicken There might be cheaper rotisserie chickens out there, but the ones at Publix are consistently well-cooked and come in a variety of flavors like lemon-pepper and mojo.
—Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2025
Back then, many in China were confident that Trump would chicken out.
—Zack Cooper, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Turn the burner off, carefully lift the chicken out of the broth, and let cool.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
The reversal in favor of optimism this morning suggests investors now think Trump will eventually chicken out and Washington and Beijing will come to a deal.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
Lightly pound chicken out to 1/4-inch thick.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
New York — Wall Street traders embraced the term TACO — Trump always chickens out — earlier this year to describe President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again position on tariffs.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chicken out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken%20out. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
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