chicken out

British  

verb

1. informal (intr, adverb) to fail to do something through fear or lack of conviction

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chicken out Idioms  

1. Back out from fear, lose one's nerve, as in In the end I chickened out and took the easier route down the mountain. Chicken is a popular synonym for “cowardly,” a usage arising in the 1600s and 1700s but then apparently abandoned until the 20th century. [Slang; c. 1930]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chicken out

Talking to the only other couple who managed not to chicken out like we did, I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when they learned we’d left in the midnight hour.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025

“We gave them the freedom to finish it, and not cop out. We didn’t want to chicken out of anything.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2022

And now Chelsi Stone is glad she didn’t chicken out.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2022

I’m at my most powerful the moment I pull a perfect roast chicken out of the oven, and little makes me happier than sending my friends home full.

From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2021

If I chicken out, I will be my own sole witness.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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