plural chickens
1
a
: the common domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) especially when young
also
: its flesh used as food compare jungle fowl
b
: any of various birds or their young
2
: a young woman
3
a
: coward
b
: any of various contests in which the participants risk personal safety in order to see which one will give up first
4
[short for chickenshit] slang
: petty details
5
slang
: a young or youthful gay man
also
: a boy or young man regarded as an object of sexual interest especially by a man compare chicken hawk sense 3
2
chickened; chickening
ˈchi-kᵊn-iŋ 
ˈchik-niŋ
: to lose one's nerve
—usually used with out
seemed to exhibit courage, manliness, and conviction when others chickened out—
J. R. Seeley
J. R. SeeleySynonyms
Examples of chicken in a Sentence
Noun
We had chicken for dinner.
It's just a spider, you chicken!
Don't be such a big chicken.
Adjective
too chicken to go through with the stunt
just concentrate on the important duties of the job and forget about the chicken stuff
Recent Examples on the Web
Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024
This can be an issue for pet owners and farmers, since coyotes are known to go after pets and livestock including dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and sheep.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Air Force One's coms went down because of malicious code planted by Leonard Rish’s daughter in the NCIS-verse’s 1,000th episode, and the vice president actually just ate some bad chicken.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Add more chicken stock, 1 teaspoon at a time, if mixture is too dry.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chicken 
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Noun
Every spring, handlers offer Al a large piece of chicken.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024
This can be an issue for pet owners and farmers, since coyotes are known to go after pets and livestock including dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and sheep.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Air Force One's coms went down because of malicious code planted by Leonard Rish’s daughter in the NCIS-verse’s 1,000th episode, and the vice president actually just ate some bad chicken.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Add more chicken stock, 1 teaspoon at a time, if mixture is too dry.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chicken
Dictionary Entries Near chicken
Cite this Entry
“Chicken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chicken
2 of 3 adjectivechicken
3 of 3 verb
chickened; chickening
ˈchik-(ə-)niŋ
: to lose one's courage
—usually used with out
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