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chicken wire

American

noun

a light, wire netting having a large, hexagonal mesh, used especially as fencing.

chicken wire British

noun

wire netting with a hexagonal mesh

"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

Etymology

Origin of chicken wire

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

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:

chicken wire

Graphene is made of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern that looks like chicken wire.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2025

The rooms have no ceilings and are instead covered in chicken wire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

By all accounts, visiting the site from inside the chicken wire is a crimped and diminished experience.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2025

Goldsborough admitted he was lucky his cancer was found as a result of "a pesky bit of chicken wire" and urged others to get checked out if they had any concerns.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025

The light was coming in queerly through the frosted glass with the chicken wire embedded in it.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023