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
Mark Maglio, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2025
And yes, a number of chicken puns were shared in those conversations.
—Carly Mallenbaum, Axios, 15 Feb. 2025
Out of 67 billion chicken eggs laid in the United States the year before, 32 were sent into orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2025
What almost everyone is missing: This country has roughly one month until the government runs out of money, and things like paychecks to troops, food-inspection programs, disaster-relief payments, and aid to low-income families could all be caught up in a chaotic game of chicken.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for chicken 
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Noun
Customers were 'like family' Frontier Airlines launches nonstop service from CT airport with fares as low as $49
Popular fast food chicken chain applies for permit to open another location in CT
Winter storm watch issued for parts of CT.
—Mark Maglio, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2025
And yes, a number of chicken puns were shared in those conversations.
—Carly Mallenbaum, Axios, 15 Feb. 2025
Out of 67 billion chicken eggs laid in the United States the year before, 32 were sent into orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 2025
What almost everyone is missing: This country has roughly one month until the government runs out of money, and things like paychecks to troops, food-inspection programs, disaster-relief payments, and aid to low-income families could all be caught up in a chaotic game of chicken.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
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 Feb. 2025.
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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