chicken (out)

verb

Definition of chicken (out)next
as in to back out

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chicken (out)
  1. back out
  2. back down
  3. cop out
  4. wimp out
  5. back off
Verb
  • But Netflix backed out of the bidding in February after Paramount upped its takeout offer for all of WBD in a deal worth $111 billion.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 13 July 2026
  • But their erotic encounter is short-lived, as Joe tumbles and blows his back out while sheepishly dancing to Sade.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of back out
Verb
  • But the Academy eventually backed down from that idea after the WGA and DGA took issue with the Emmy proposals; the Academy’s director and writer peer groups drafted a compromise.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • That was resistance for most of the past year, and since March it's flipped into support, the stock has come back down to test it a handful of times on pullbacks and bounced every time.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 16 July 2026
Definition of back down
Verb
  • Strategic shakeup Usually buying and selling is a cop out, but with where the Red Sox are in their competitive cycle the approach might make some sense.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 31 May 2026
  • The case highlighted limits in Colorado's police oversight despite significant recent reforms aimed at forcing dishonest cops out of the profession.
    — Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 22 May 2026
Definition of cop out
Verb
  • Some plants wimp out when temperatures soar—but not these heat-tolerant perennials.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
  • These thick, long-lasting steamers will never wimp out mid-shower, and the cute packaging sure doesn't hurt either.
    — Annie Blackman, Allure, 16 Mar. 2025
Definition of wimp out
Verb
  • Uzbekistan went close to an equaliser before Jaminton Campaz scored in stoppage time, immediately followed by a shot at the other end that thundered back off the crossbar.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • When the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on the lawn of other beach neighbors, the only Jewish family in town, my dad tracked down the local Klan leader and told him to back off, or else.
    — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Definition of back off
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

chicken-livered
chicken (out)
chickens
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Cite this Entry

“Chicken (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chicken%20%28out%29. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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