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View synonyms for chicken

chicken

[ chik-uhn ]

noun

  1. a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl, especially the red jungle fowl, and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers.
  2. the young of this bird, especially when less than a year old.
  3. the flesh of the chicken, especially of the young bird, used as food.
  4. Slang.
    1. a cowardly or fearful person.
    2. a young or inexperienced person, especially a young girl.
    3. petty details or tasks.
    4. unnecessary discipline or regulations.
    5. a young gay male, especially one sought as a sexual partner by older men.
  5. a contest in which two cars approach each other at high speed down the center of a road, the object being to force one's opponent to veer away first.
  6. a policy or strategy of challenging an opponent to risk a clash or yield:

    diplomats playing chicken at the conference table.



adjective

  1. (of food) containing, made from, or having the flavor of chicken:

    chicken salad; chicken soup.

  2. Slang.
    1. petty or trivial:

      a chicken regulation.

    2. obsessed with petty details, regulations, etc.:

      He's quitting this chicken outfit to become his own boss.

verb phrase

  1. Slang.
    1. to refrain from doing something because of fear or cowardice:

      I chickened out when I saw how deep the water was.

    2. to renege or withdraw:

      You can't chicken out of this business deal now.

chicken

/ ˈtʃɪkɪn /

noun

  1. a domestic fowl bred for its flesh or eggs, esp a young one
  2. the flesh of such a bird used for food
  3. any of various similar birds, such as a prairie chicken
  4. slang.
    a cowardly person
  5. slang.
    a young inexperienced person
  6. slang.
    an underage boy or girl regarded as a potential target for sexual abuse
  7. informal.
    any of various, often dangerous, games or challenges in which the object is to make one's opponent lose his nerve
  8. count one's chickens before they are hatched
    count one's chickens before they are hatched to be overoptimistic in acting on expectations which are not yet fulfilled
  9. like a headless chicken informal.
    like a headless chicken disorganized and uncontrolled
  10. no chicken slang.
    no chickenno spring chicken no longer young

    she's no chicken



adjective

  1. slang.
    easily scared; cowardly; timid

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chicken1

First recorded before 950; 1605–15 chicken fordef 4a; 1940–45 chicken fordef 6; Middle English chiken, Old English cīcen; akin to Middle Dutch kieken ( Dutch kuiken ), Low German küken

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chicken1

Old English ciecen; related to Old Norse kjūklingr gosling, Middle Low German küken chicken

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. count one's chickens before they are hatched, to rely on a benefit that is still uncertain:

    They were already spending wildly, in anticipation of their inheritance, counting their chickens before they were hatched.

More idioms and phrases containing chicken

  • count one's chickens
  • go to bed with (the chickens)
  • like a chicken with its head cut off
  • no spring chicken

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Example Sentences

Frozen 2 all but drags Elsa’s queerness into the text, though it chickens out at the last minute.

From Vox

Tyga launched TYGA BITES, a “celebrity-owned virtual dining concept,” aka chicken nuggets you order through Grubhub.

From Eater

Swallowing eye-popping amounts of fried chicken, instant noodles and hot dogs have made these gluttons internet stars.

From Ozy

We tested this 20,000-BTU propane grill when we had family visiting and were able to cook enough chicken thighs and legs for six people.

Sharing the boat with a pig, a donkey, and a chicken, they set sail for the Seychelles, more than a thousand miles to the west.

From Fortune

Wearing the right foot of a chicken was considered good luck.

While the chicken today might be the least exotic bird one can think of, it was once a gift that wowed kings.

The chicken, to this day, is valued for its medicinal properties.

In Rome, he writes, the chicken “predicted the outcome of battles.”

Lawler is more interested in the more fascinating story of how the chicken spread.

Squinty could look out, but the slats were as close together as those in a chicken coop, and the little pig could not get out.

So Hettie put the chicken in a cage, with some wool to cover it, and fed it several times every day, till it came to know her.

Lyn was no chicken-hearted weakling, to sit down and weep unavailingly in time of peril.

Not so much, either; 'cause a chicken will stir round an' scratch a livin' out the ground, sooner 'n starve.

There was no one who could make such excellent coffee or fry a chicken so golden brown as she.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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