1
a
: a female chicken especially over a year old
broadly
: a female bird
b
: the female of various mostly aquatic animals (such as lobsters or fish)
2
: woman
especially
: a fussy middle-aged woman
Examples of hen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Occurring at a company facility in Palmer County, positive tests for pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) resulted in the slaughter of nearly two million chickens, including 1.6 million hens and 337,000 pullets, or young hens.
—
Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Some wildlife scientists believe that the now-infamous decline is being spurred on by seasons that start too early in the Spring, when Toms are still breeding hens that haven’t begun to incubate their eggs.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2024
California voters overwhelmingly approved two statewide ballots in 2008 and 2018 that addressed animal confinement, establishing minimum space requirements for a variety of livestock, including egg-laying hens, veal calves and pigs.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Cal-Maine is killing nearly 2 million hens, around 4% of its population, and destroying millions more eggs in order to contain the virus.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
Washingtonians can choose from a hen house of fried chicken sandwiches; the Tabard’s contribution comes with an audible crunch but not much more to recommend it.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Stamey also admitted to poaching a bearded hen turkey in 2022 and not checking it in with TWRA.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 29 Feb. 2024
The main threat from the storm system, though, will be hail, possibly including hailstones as large or larger than hen’s eggs.
—Julie Bosman, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024
The hen is gray-brown overall, with a smaller crest and white teardrop markings on its eyes.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 15 Feb. 2024
Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Some wildlife scientists believe that the now-infamous decline is being spurred on by seasons that start too early in the Spring, when Toms are still breeding hens that haven’t begun to incubate their eggs.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2024
California voters overwhelmingly approved two statewide ballots in 2008 and 2018 that addressed animal confinement, establishing minimum space requirements for a variety of livestock, including egg-laying hens, veal calves and pigs.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Cal-Maine is killing nearly 2 million hens, around 4% of its population, and destroying millions more eggs in order to contain the virus.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
Washingtonians can choose from a hen house of fried chicken sandwiches; the Tabard’s contribution comes with an audible crunch but not much more to recommend it.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Stamey also admitted to poaching a bearded hen turkey in 2022 and not checking it in with TWRA.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 29 Feb. 2024
The main threat from the storm system, though, will be hail, possibly including hailstones as large or larger than hen’s eggs.
—Julie Bosman, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024
The hen is gray-brown overall, with a smaller crest and white teardrop markings on its eyes.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hen. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hen
noun1
: a female chicken especially over a year old
2
: a female of any bird
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