chick
Americannoun
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chicks
plural
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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.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Adult vultures usually reach sexual maturity between the ages of five and seven, and produce only one chick every year or two.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
She added that the scheme only removes one chick at a time from nests, and the birds are checked for bird flu before they are released.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Our new Donna, Jess, brings a real rock chick energy to it,” Holcenberg said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Even with trials, like a harrowing storm that claimed the life of a chick last year, it did the trick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
As if she were just one more chick in the brood.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Emperor penguins rely on stable sea ice to live, hunt and breed and their chicks can perish if they fall in freezing water before developing waterproof feathers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Many tuned in to the nonstop livestream of Jackie’s nest — often daily — to watch her and her mate Shadow weather freezing winter storms, protect their eggs and dote on fuzzy chicks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Conservationists can access the nests to check on any chicks and ensure their wellbeing.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Resistance at first was fierce, since the idea had never been tried and putting puffin chicks at risk seemed antithetical to the Audubon Society’s creed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Inside myself I say, The little chicks, peep peep peep they go when they are hungry, when they are cold.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
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.
