chicken out

British  

verb

1. informal (intr, adverb) to fail to do something through fear or lack of conviction

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chicken out Idioms  

1. Back out from fear, lose one's nerve, as in In the end I chickened out and took the easier route down the mountain. Chicken is a popular synonym for “cowardly,” a usage arising in the 1600s and 1700s but then apparently abandoned until the 20th century. [Slang; c. 1930]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chicken out

Talking to the only other couple who managed not to chicken out like we did, I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when they learned we’d left in the midnight hour.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025

Murdaugh testified that he saw them around the same time he took a chicken out of the mouth of one of their dogs, Bubba, who had been chasing the chicken on their property.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 23, 2023

“It’s really important when our country is going to crap, and maybe if it starts lightning right now, I might chicken out and run away,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2022

And now Chelsi Stone is glad she didn’t chicken out.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2022

I choose a Mozart piece that Grandpa used to like, turn the volume way down, and press the Play button before I can chicken out.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

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