spring chicken
Americannoun
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a young chicken, especially a broiler or fryer.
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Slang. a young person.
I don't know his age, but he's no spring chicken.
noun
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Also called: springer. a young chicken, tender for cooking, esp one from two to ten months old
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informal she is no longer young
Etymology
Origin of spring chicken
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45
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.
And I was not a spring chicken at 74 years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
As impersonated by Matt Walker, the company’s director and comic frontman, he makes the late-career Las Vegas singer look like a spring chicken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
“The papacy is a huge burden. Especially for an older man,” Adeyemi replies, cutting his eyes at Tremblay, no spring chicken, in a particular way.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2024
“I mean, I’m 40 years old. I know I’m not a spring chicken anymore.”
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2024
“What did you think I was, a spring chicken? Haw, haw—that’s a good one, eh, Sister?”
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
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.
