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.
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.
The Lakers should honor him at a game by putting his name and microphone on a banner alongside Chick Hearn’s and let him announce Laaaker Girlsss one last time.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2026
The venue hosted jazz and vocal legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Al Cooper alongside band battles between the Chick Webb, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman orchestras.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
Ben Chick, a farmer based in Sixpenny Handley, Dorset, said performing on Saturday "was the most exhilarating experience".
From BBC • May 24, 2026
But Anthony Belleau scored a penalty and replacement flanker Callum Chick added a try to eliminate Scarlets and send South Africans Bulls into the last 16.
From Barron's • Jan. 18, 2026
When Herbert’s boyhood friend Chick Webb came to New York, he introduced Herbert to some of his show-business pals such as Bill Robinson and Fats Waller.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
