Word
chicken
Phoneticschick·en
US/ˈtʃɪkən/
UK/tʃˈɪkɪn/
Definitions
01the bird
n. a common farm bird that people keep for its eggs and meat.
n. a domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, typically raised for egg production or meat.
“The farmer has twenty chickens that wander around the yard every morning.”
“The local cooperative focuses on heritage breeds of chicken, arguing that they are more resilient to the regional climate than industrial varieties.”
02the meat
n. the meat from a chicken used as food.
n. the flesh of the chicken used as a culinary protein. Uncountable in this sense.
“We are having roasted chicken with potatoes for dinner tonight.”
“The chef recommended marinating the chicken in lemon and herbs for several hours to ensure the meat remained tender during the high-heat roasting process.”
Synonyms
03a coward
n. someone who is afraid to do something.
n. a person perceived as lacking courage or being easily intimidated. Countable; often used as a derogatory label in informal speech.
“Don't be such a chicken — the water isn't even that cold.”
“He was tired of being called a chicken by his peers, so he finally agreed to go on the steepest roller coaster in the park.”
Informal
Antonyms
04game of dare
n. a game where two people do something dangerous to see who gets scared first.
n. a game or situation in which two parties engage in a dangerous activity to see which one will yield or withdraw first.
“The two drivers were playing a dangerous game of chicken on the narrow road.”
“The trade negotiations devolved into a high-stakes game of chicken, with neither nation willing to lower tariffs until the other made the first move.”
Informal
Synonyms
05cowardly
adj. being afraid or not brave.
adj. exhibiting a lack of courage; cowardly. Used predicatively or before a noun in informal registers.
“He was too chicken to ask her for a dance.”
“Despite his tough exterior, he admitted he was too chicken to watch the horror movie alone in the dark.”
Informal
Antonyms
06to back out
v. to decide not to do something because you are afraid.
v. to withdraw from a commitment or situation due to fear or loss of nerve. Usually appears as the phrasal verb 'chicken out'.
“I was going to go skydiving, but I chickened out at the last minute.”
“She had planned to confront her manager about the unpaid overtime, but she chickened out when she saw how busy the office was.”
Informal
Usage
Usually used with 'out' as 'chicken out'.
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English chiken (also as chike > English chick), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic kiukīn (“chicken”), or alternatively from Proto-West Germanic kukkīn, equivalent to cock + -en. Compare North Frisian schückling (“chicken”), Saterland Frisian Sjuuken (“chicken”), Dutch kuiken (“chick, chicken”), German Low German Küken (“chick”), whence German Küken (“chick”), (elevated, obsolete) German Küchlein (“chick”) and Old Norse kjúklingr (“chicken”).
Shortening of chicken out.
From chick + -en (plural ending).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Idioms
chicken feed — A very small or insignificant quantity, especially of money.
chicken out — To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.
chicken scratch — Cramped or illegible handwriting.
choke the chicken — To masturbate by stimulating one's penis.
get up with the chickens — to wake up early
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.
run around like a chicken with its head cut off — To act in a haphazard or aimless way; to act frantically or without control.
the chickens come home to roost — A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them.
up with the chickens — Awake and out of bed early in the morning.