What does chicken mean?
A chicken is a common domesticated bird, descended from wild junglefowl of Southeast Asia and raised worldwide for its eggs and meat. In everyday speech, the word most often refers either to the living bird or to chicken as a food — one of the most widely consumed meats globally. Beyond the kitchen and the farmyard, 'chicken' carries a well-established figurative sense: to call someone a chicken is to suggest they are cowardly or too frightened to act, a usage so entrenched that 'chicken out' means to abandon something out of fear. Related expressions include 'chicken feed' for a trivially small amount of money, 'the chicken-and-egg problem' for a question about circular causation, and the dare-based game of 'chicken'. The word is informal but entirely standard across British and American English, appearing in everything from children's stories to business journalism.
A domesticated bird kept for its eggs and meat.
"The farmer keeps twenty chickens in the coop behind the barn."
The flesh of the chicken, eaten as food.
"Would you like your sandwich made with chicken or beef?"
(Informal) A person who is afraid to do something; a coward.
"He was too much of a chicken to ride the rollercoaster."
(Informal) To lose courage and back out of doing something; often used with 'out'.
"She chickened out of asking her boss for a raise."
Almost always appears in the phrasal form 'chicken out'.
Standard plural. When referring to the meat as food, 'chicken' is uncountable ('some chicken'), not 'chickens'.
"Chickens lay more eggs in summer than in winter."
There are more chickens on Earth than any other bird — roughly one for every human alive — making it the most numerous bird species on the planet by a wide margin.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chicken
The word 'chicken' comes from Old English 'cicen', meaning a young fowl or chick, and is ultimately related to 'chick'. It has been used in English since at least the early medieval period, originally denoting the young of any bird before narrowing to mean the domestic fowl. The figurative use of 'chicken' to describe a coward developed much later, becoming widespread in American English during the twentieth century.
Related word forms
How chicken is actually used
As a noun for the bird, 'chicken' is countable and gender-neutral, unlike 'hen' (female) or 'rooster'/'cock' (male). The informal sense meaning 'coward' is common but slightly childish or teasing in register — calling someone a chicken can come across as playful or mildly insulting depending on context. As an adjective describing fear ('a chicken move'), it remains informal. The word is universally understood across British and American English.
Easily confused with chicken
'Chic' is an adjective meaning stylishly elegant, whereas 'chicken' is a noun referring to the bird, the meat, or a cowardly person.
'Checkin'' is an informal contraction of 'checking', while 'chicken' refers to the bird or meat.