chicken hawk

noun

plural chicken hawks

1

: a hawk that preys or is believed to prey on chickens

2

disparaging : a person who strongly supports or promotes a war or warlike policies but who has never served in the military

His strong ties to the military and his reluctance to use force … made him an ideal man for the job, and his battle wounds from Vietnam gave him the moral authority to answer the chicken hawks who opposed the contraction of the military.

—Dana Milbank

3

slang : a man who pursues boys or young men for sexual purposes compare chicken entry 1 sense 5

Examples of chicken hawk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mary Bly is the daughter of Minnesota poet Robert Bly, who was with Wright that afternoon at Bill Duffy's farm when Wright lazed in the hammock, watching the chicken hawk and the bronze butterfly, listening to the clanging of the cowbells. —Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune, 2 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1