What does chook mean?
"Chook" is an informal word meaning a domestic chicken, especially a hen, and it is most closely associated with Australian and New Zealand English, though it also appears in casual British usage. Derived from "chick", the word evokes the familiar image of hens scratching around a backyard coop, and phrases such as "chook shed", "chook pen", and "chook run" are common in rural life. Beyond its literal sense, "chook" has developed an affectionate second life: in Australia and New Zealand it can serve as a warm, jocular term of address for a person, much like "mate" or "love" — "How are you, you old chook?" The tone is invariably friendly and colloquial, making the word unsuited to formal writing but beloved in conversation, advertising, and country speech.
A domestic chicken, especially a hen.
"She keeps six chooks at the bottom of the garden for their eggs."
Chiefly Australian and New Zealand English; informal.
An affectionate term of address for a person, especially a woman or an old friend.
"'Come in, you silly old chook,' he laughed."
Australian and New Zealand English; warm and jocular, not offensive.
Regular plural; used both for multiple birds and, figuratively, when addressing several people affectionately.
"The chooks were clattering about in the yard at dawn."
In Australia, calling someone a 'chook' is a compliment — the humble backyard hen lent its name to one of the friendliest greetings in the English language.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chook
"Chook" arose as an alteration of "chick", with the vowel changed in the same way that produced other informal doublets of older words. It emerged in English by at least the eighteenth century and took firm root in Australian and New Zealand vernacular, where it became the standard colloquial term for a hen or domestic fowl. Its closest relatives are simply "chick" and "chicken" themselves, all descending from the same Old English root for a young bird.
Related word forms
How chook is actually used
The word carries a warm, folksy register and is firmly at home in rural and everyday Australian speech. As a term of address it is affectionate rather than insulting, though it should be used only in informal contexts.
Easily confused with chook
A chick is a young or newly hatched chicken, whereas a chook refers to an adult domestic chicken or hen.