chick

[chik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chick ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a young chicken or other bird.

a child.

Slang: Often Offensive. a term used to refer to a girl or young woman.

Origin of chick

1275–1325; Middle English chike, variant of chiken chicken

Can be confusedchic chick

Usage note

As a term used to refer to a young woman, chick is slightly dated. Originally it was perceived as insulting because of the perception that it infantilized women. Now the word has been embraced by some women as a positive term of self-reference and an expression of camaraderie. When used as a modifier, as in chick flick and chick lit, its meaning is not restricted to young women and its use is not offensive.

Corea

[kuh-ree-uh]

noun

Ar·man·do Anthony [ahr-mahn-doh] /ɑrˈmɑn doʊ/, Chick, born 1941, U.S. jazz pianist and composer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chick

sprout, woman, moppet, youngster, child

Examples from the Web for chick

Contemporary Examples of chick

“Chick Chick,” the latest tune by C-Pop sensation Wang Rong, is like “Gangnam Style” on MDMA.
The Most WTF Music Video of the Year: Wang Rong’s ‘Chick Chick’ is ‘Gangnam Style’ on MDMA
Marlow Stern
November 16, 2014
Ernst responded by accusing Braley of sexism because his ad, which featured a baby bird not making a peep, had a “chick” in it.
The Bruce Braley-Joni Ernst Race Is Iowa’s Ugliest Senate Campaign Ever
Ben Jacobs
July 22, 2014
Study by the University of Rochester indicates that couples who watch “chick flicks” together are less likely to get divorced.
P.J. on the Owl-Monkey Project and the Science of Chick Flicks
P. J. O’Rourke
April 6, 2014
“Given that my book was about a wedding, it was going to be a struggle to distance it from the chick lit category,” she said.
A Picture Says It All Or Does It? Judging an Author by Their Photo
Jennifer Miller
December 10, 2013
But the aforementioned “uptight” chick would have a hard time making a case for sexual assault under these specific circumstances.
Dutch Supreme Court’s ‘Forced-Tongue Kiss’ Rape Ruling Explained
Lizzie Crocker
March 13, 2013

Historical Examples of chick

This is all of the egg which thus far represents the chick itself.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
As yet, we have seen no arrangement for furnishing air to the chick.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
They never stopped long where there were houses; they had no wife, no chick, no home, never a chum.
To-morrow
Joseph Conrad
If we say the chick is unintelligent, we must certainly say the infant is unintelligent.
Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I
Herbert Spencer
I expressed to him my surprise that he should fuss about me like an old hen over a chick.
The Arrow of Gold
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for chick

chick

noun

the young of a bird, esp of a domestic fowl

slang a girl or young woman, esp an attractive one

a young child: used as a term of endearment

Word Origin for chick

C14: short for chicken

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chick

mid-14c., shortening of chicken (n.), extended to human offspring (often in alliterative pairing chick and child) and thence used as a term of endearment. As slang for "young woman" it is first recorded 1927 (in "Elmer Gantry"), supposedly from U.S. black slang. In British use in this sense by c.1940; popularized by Beatniks late 1950s. Chicken in this sense is from 1711. Sometimes c.1600-1900 chicken was taken as a plural, chick as a singular (cf. child/children) for the domestic fowl.