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definitions

chick

[chik]
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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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RELATED WORDS

sprout, woman, moppet, youngster, child

Nearby words

  1. chichewa,
  2. chichi,
  3. chichihaerh,
  4. chichivache,
  5. chichén itzá,
  6. chick flick,
  7. chick lit,
  8. chick-pea,
  9. chickabiddy,
  10. chickadee

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

Examples from the Web for chick

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

chick

n.

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