chicken out
To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He wanted to ask her out, but he chickened out.”
“She was going to try bungee jumping, but she chickened out at the last minute.”
“Standing at the edge of the stage, microphone in hand, he felt the familiar dread rise and knew he would chicken out yet again.”
- 01
chicken feed
A very small or insignificant quantity, especially of money.
- 02
chicken scratch
Cramped or illegible handwriting.
- 03
choke the chicken
To masturbate by stimulating one's penis.
- 04
get up with the chickens
to wake up early
- 05
play chicken
As a risky test of courage, to drive two vehicles directly toward one another in order to see which driver will swerve away first.
- 06
run around like a chicken with its head cut off
To act in a haphazard or aimless way; to act frantically or without control.
- 07
the chickens come home to roost
A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them.
- 08
up with the chickens
Awake and out of bed early in the morning.
Last updated August 10, 2026