chick
Americannoun
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a young chicken or other bird.
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a child.
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Slang: Often Offensive. a term used to refer to a girl or young woman.
noun
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the young of a bird, esp of a domestic fowl
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slang a girl or young woman, esp an attractive one
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a young child: used as a term of endearment
Sensitive 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.
Etymology
Origin of chick
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English chike, variant of chiken; see origin at chicken
Explanation
A chick is a baby bird, especially a just-hatched chicken. Chicks are small, yellow, and fluffy. Chick can describe most young birds, from an eagle chick to a flamingo chick, or be used more generally: "Dogs aren't allowed on the beach because of the nesting seabirds and their chicks." What most people picture when they think of a chick, though, is a newly hatched chicken, and in fact the word is a 14th century shortened form of chicken. It's also long been an informal, slightly offensive term for a young woman.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Managing people and predators around nesting beaches, with the modest goal of helping pairs of oystercatchers fledge half a chick more each year, brought a 45% population surge by 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
"If they get shot when they're still sort of midway through their breeding season, it's not just the chick that dies, it's also that the breeding population is reduced."
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
What’s known as “pip watch” started earlier this week, a time of high anticipation when livestream viewers watch for signs of a chick breaking out of its shell.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Extinction was projected only in hypothetical scenarios where very low juvenile survival occurred, with around 20% failing to reach adulthood, combined with extremely poor reproduction limited to a maximum of one chick per pair.
From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026
Brother Khoi refuses to eat his, putting each under a lamp in hopes of a chick.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
