Meaning & use

chicken

noun·Everyday

A common farm bird raised for its eggs and meat.

See it in a sentence

The farmer kept a dozen chickens in a coop behind the barn.

They grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner on the patio.

A note on using this word

Informally, 'chicken' can also describe a cowardly person, as in 'don't be a chicken.'

Words with a similar meaning

fowlhen

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. adjective

Informal: too afraid to do something; cowardly.

He was too chicken to ask his boss for a raise.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “chicken”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.