chicken
Americannoun
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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.
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the young of this bird, especially when less than a year old.
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the flesh of the chicken, especially of the young bird, used as food.
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Slang.
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a cowardly or fearful person.
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a young or inexperienced person, especially a young girl.
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petty details or tasks.
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unnecessary discipline or regulations.
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a young gay male, especially one sought as a sexual partner by older men.
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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.
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a policy or strategy of challenging an opponent to risk a clash or yield.
diplomats playing chicken at the conference table.
adjective
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(of food) containing, made from, or having the flavor of chicken.
chicken salad; chicken soup.
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Slang.
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petty or trivial.
a chicken regulation.
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obsessed with petty details, regulations, etc..
He's quitting this chicken outfit to become his own boss.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a domestic fowl bred for its flesh or eggs, esp a young one
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the flesh of such a bird used for food
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any of various similar birds, such as a prairie chicken
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slang a cowardly person
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slang a young inexperienced person
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slang an underage boy or girl regarded as a potential target for sexual abuse
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informal any of various, often dangerous, games or challenges in which the object is to make one's opponent lose his nerve
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to be overoptimistic in acting on expectations which are not yet fulfilled
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informal disorganized and uncontrolled
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slang no longer young
she's no chicken
adjective
Etymology
Origin of chicken
First recorded before 950; 1605–15 chicken for def. 4a; 1940–45 chicken for def. 6; Middle English chiken, Old English cīcen; akin to Middle Dutch kieken ( Dutch kuiken ), Low German küken
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 24-year-old was stuck alongside the highway in the November chill until another driver came by to pick him up and deliver the load of frozen chicken to its destination.
She says her current word tic is "chicken", which she says over and over again.
From BBC
I have friends who choke down Greek yogurt by the bucketful, who eat handfuls of grilled chicken at a time, who dead lift their own body weight.
On a recent wintry night, Nodler was excited to spot two familiar guests at a table enjoying chicken schnitzel and homemade milk bread: the butcher shop owner and town locksmith.
“I remember my grandmother raising the chickens and the cows and the horses, and growing the greens, beans and sweet potatoes,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
