Definition of Chicken

1. Noun. The flesh of a chicken used for food.

Exact synonyms: Poulet, Volaille
Group relationships: Gallus Gallus
Generic synonyms: Poultry
Specialized synonyms: Broiler, Capon, Frier, Fryer, Pullet, Roaster, Spatchcock, Hen
Terms within: Breast, White Meat, Chicken Wing

2. Adjective. Easily frightened.

3. Noun. A domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have been developed from the red jungle fowl.
Exact synonyms: Gallus Gallus
Generic synonyms: Domestic Fowl, Fowl, Poultry
Specialized synonyms: Biddy, Chick, Cock, Rooster, Capon, Biddy, Hen, Spring Chicken, Rhode Island Red, Dominick, Dominique, Orpington
Terms within: Poulet, Volaille

4. Noun. A person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy.
Exact synonyms: Crybaby, Wimp
Generic synonyms: Doormat, Weakling, Wuss
Derivative terms: Wimpy

5. Noun. A foolhardy competition; a dangerous activity that is continued until one competitor becomes afraid and stops.
Generic synonyms: Competition, Contest

Definition of Chicken

1. n. A young bird or fowl, esp. a young barnyard fowl.

Definition of Chicken

1. Noun. A domestic fowl, ''Gallus gallus'', especially when young ¹

2. Noun. The meat from this bird eaten as food. ¹

3. Noun. (countable slang) A coward. ¹

4. Noun. (countable gay slang) A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair. ''Cf. chickenhawk'' ¹

5. Noun. (countable slang) A young or inexperienced person. ¹

6. Noun. A confrontational game in which the participants move toward each other at high speed (usually in automobiles); the player who turns first to avoid colliding into the other is the loser. ¹

7. Noun. The game of dare. ¹

8. Adjective. cowardly ¹

9. Verb. (intransitive) To avoid as a result of fear. ¹

10. Verb. (intransitive) To develop physical or other characteristics resembling a chicken's, for example, bumps on the skin. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Chicken

1. to lose one's nerve [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Chicken

chick heart fibroblast
chick lit
chick nutritional dermatosis
chickabiddies
chickabiddy
chickadee
chickadees
chickaree
chickarees
chickasaw plum
chickdom
chickee
chickees
chicken (current term)
chicken-breasted
chicken-feed
chicken-fight
chicken-fried steak
chicken-hearted
chicken-heartedness
chicken-livered
chicken-or-egg question
chicken-turtle
chicken-wing
chicken-wings
chicken Kiev

Literary usage of Chicken

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Adventure Guide to the Alaska Highway by Ed Readicker-Henderson (2006)
"chicken The town of chicken had about 175 people living in it at the turn of the century. Now there are perhaps 25 year-round residents. ..."

2. Foods and Their Adulteration: Origin, Manufacture, and Composition of Food by Harvey Washington Wiley (1917)
"The most common of all is the chicken,—the next perhaps are turkeys in this country and the ... For food purposes the chicken is eaten at various ages. ..."

3. Dombey and Son. by Charles Dickens, Hablot Knight Browne (1848)
"The chicken did not appear to be in a particularly good humour, ... When the chicken put this question he dropped his hat, made a dodge and a feint ..."

4. Journal of the American Chemical Society by American Chemical Society (1912)
"Post-mortem changes in chicken fat include a pronounced increase in acidity, ... Hence this study was undertaken to determin its presence in chicken fats ..."

5. Yule-tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular by Benjamin Thorpe (1853)
"THERE was once a little chicken called Kluk. A nut fell on his hack, ... Who has told thee that, little chicken Kluk?" "Oh, a nut fell on my hack, ..."

6. A New System of Domestic Cookery: Formed Upon Principles of Economy and by Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell (1824)
"Cut off the legs and the whole back of a dressed chicken; if under-done the better. ... Cut off the neck-end of the chicken; and broil the back and ..."

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