VocabauraVOCABAURA

chicken

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

chikuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtʃɪkən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. countable

    A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus).

  2. uncountable

    The meat from this bird eaten as food.

  3. countableslangsometimes derogatory

    A coward.

  4. 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 "chicken" (that is, the loser).

  5. preceded by definite article

    A simple dance in which the movements of a chicken are imitated.

  6. uncountable

    The game of dare.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To avoid a situation one is afraid of.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “chicken”. We review each one before it appears.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “chicken” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.