chicken

/ˈtʃɪkɪn/
verb
  1. To lose one's courage and decide not to do something (usually followed by 'out').
    • Don't chicken out now — we've been planning this trip for months!
    • He was going to bungee jump, but he chickened out at the last second.
    • She chickened out of giving the speech and asked her friend to do it.
noun
  1. A common bird that is raised for its meat and eggs.
    • We have six chickens in our backyard that lay fresh eggs.
    • The farmer feeds the chickens every morning at sunrise.
    • The children watched the chickens pecking at the ground in the coop.
  2. The meat of a chicken used as food.
    • I ordered grilled chicken with a side of vegetables for dinner.
    • She made a delicious chicken soup for the family.
    • The recipe calls for two pounds of boneless chicken.
  3. A person who is cowardly or easily frightened (informal).
    • Only a chicken would run away from a tiny spider.
    • Don't be such a chicken — just jump into the pool!
    • He called me a chicken because I didn't want to go on the roller coaster.
adjective
  1. Cowardly; lacking courage (informal).
    • I felt chicken about speaking in front of the whole class.
    • She was too chicken to ask the teacher for help.
    • He's chicken when it comes to trying new foods.
Antonyms
What does "chicken" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean