chicken out

chick·en out

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [chik-uh n out]
- /ˈtʃɪk ən aʊt/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [chik-uh n out]
- /ˈtʃɪk ən aʊt/

Definitions of chicken out words

phrasal verb chicken out If someone chickens out of something they were intending to do, they decide not to do it because they are afraid. 3
verb chicken out to fail to do something through fear or lack of conviction 3
noun chicken out a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl of southeastern Asia and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers. 1
noun chicken out the young of this bird, especially when less than a year old. 1
noun chicken out the flesh of the chicken, especially of the young bird, used as food. 1
noun chicken out Slang. a cowardly or fearful person. a young or inexperienced person, especially a young girl. petty details or tasks. unnecessary discipline or regulations. a young male homosexual, especially one sought as a sexual partner by older men. 1

See all 13 definitions of chicken out

Information block about the term

Origin of chicken out

First appearance:

before 950

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 950; 1605-15 for def 4a; 1940-45 for def 6; Middle English chiken, Old English cīcen; akin to Middle Dutch kieken (Dutch kuiken), Low German küken

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Chicken out

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Chicken out

chicken out popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 94% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

chicken out usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for chicken out

verb chicken out

avoid — If you avoid something unpleasant that might happen, you take action in order to prevent it from happening.
back down — If you back down, you withdraw a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, because other people are strongly opposed to it.
back out — If you back out, you decide not to do something that you previously agreed to do.
bow out — If you bow out of something, you stop taking part in it.
cancel — If you cancel something that has been arranged, you stop it from happening. If you cancel an order for goods or services, you tell the person or organization supplying them that you no longer wish to receive them.

All 26 Synonyms of chicken out