chicken out

phrasal verb

chickened out; chickening out; chickens out
informal
: to decide not to do something because one is afraid
He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.

Examples of chicken out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The movie dips a toe in the waters of body horror but chickens out before diving in. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Chicken out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken%20out. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

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