chick
[ chik ]
/ tʃɪk /
noun
a young chicken or other bird.
a child.
Slang: Often Offensive. a term used to refer to a girl or young woman.
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Nearby words
chichewa, chichi, chichihaerh, chichivache, chichén itzá, chick, chick flick, chick lit, chick-pea, chickabiddy, chickadee
Origin of chick
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.
Definition for chick (2 of 2)
Corea
[ kuh-ree-uh ]
/ kəˈri ə /
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
Examples from the Web for chick
British Dictionary definitions for chick
chick
/ (tʃɪk) /
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
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper