chicken

1 of 3

noun

chick·​en ˈchi-kᵊn 

sometimes -kᵊŋ

plural chickens

1

a

: the common domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) especially when young

also : its flesh used as food compare jungle fowl

b

: any of various birds or their young

2

: a young woman

3

a

: coward

b

: any of various contests in which the participants risk personal safety in order to see which one will give up first

4

[short for chickenshit] slang : petty details

5

slang : a young or youthful gay man

also : a boy or young man regarded as an object of sexual interest especially by a man compare chicken hawk sense 3

chicken

2 of 3

adjective

1

a

: scared

b

: timid, cowardly

2

slang

a

: insistent on petty details of duty or discipline

b

: petty, unimportant

chicken

3 of 3

verb

chickened; chickening ˈchi-kᵊn-iŋ 

ˈchik-niŋ

intransitive verb

: to lose one's nerve

—usually used with out

… seemed to exhibit courage, manliness, and conviction when others chickened out.

—J. R. Seeley

Synonyms of chicken

Noun

• coward

Adjective

• yellow
• afraid
• scared
• frightened
• cowardly
• careful
• chickenhearted
• pusillanimous
• spineless
• craven
• milk-livered
• gutless

Examples of chicken in a Sentence

Noun

We had chicken for dinner.

It's just a spider, you chicken!

Don't be such a big chicken.

Adjective

too chicken to go through with the stunt

just concentrate on the important duties of the job and forget about the chicken stuff

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

There’s no hope left of release — of riding Dreamfyre out of the Dragonpit, of playing with chickens in a sunlit field, her two children beside her. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

When 70 chickens at a local farm lay 128 eggs in just one night after the arrival of a red helmet biker Emanuel, the event is described as a miracle and Emanuel hailed by the local priest as a prophet of divine powers. — John Hopewell, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026

Natalie has built an empire out of baking bread and tending to chickens, becoming mega-famous (and mega-wealthy) in the process. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026

The curries are fabulous, especially the Gulnaar tandoori chicken and the monkfish curry. — Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English chiken, from Old English cicen young chicken; akin to Old English cocc cock

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1931, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing chicken

• chicken-and-egg
• chicken colonel
• chicken coop
• chicken-coop jump
• chicken feed
• chicken-fried steak
• chicken hawk
• chicken-livered
• chicken mushroom
• chicken noodle soup
• chicken-of-the-woods
• chicken out
• chicken pox
• chicken snake
• chicken soup
• chicken wire
• like a chicken with its head cut off
• Mother Carey's chicken
• popcorn chicken/shrimp
• prairie chicken
• rubber-chicken
• running around like a chicken with its head cut off
• spring chicken

Rhymes for chicken

• likin
• quicken
• sicken
• stricken
• thicken
• indican

Kids Definition

chicken

1 of 3 noun

chick·​en ˈchik-ən 

1

: the common domestic fowl especially when young

also : its flesh used as food

2

: any of various birds or their young

3

: coward

chicken

2 of 3 adjective

: cowardly sense 1

chicken

3 of 3 verb

chickened; chickening ˈchik-(ə-)niŋ 

: to lose one's courage

—usually used with out