chicken out
phrasal verb
chickened out; chickening out; chickens out
informal
: to decide not to do something because one is afraid
He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.
Examples of chicken out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Plus: Is Trump going to chicken out on tariffs again?
—
Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
But that tactic fails when Venis and Randall chicken out at the last second.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 June 2025
Trump will not chicken out of his entire tariff agenda.
—Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
Toss affected ready-to-eat chicken out, USDA says No illnesses have immediately been reported in connection to the alert.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 7 May 2025
Raccoons can reach through and pull chickens out through holes.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 7 May 2025
The movie dips a toe in the waters of body horror but chickens out before diving in.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
But that tactic fails when Venis and Randall chicken out at the last second.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 June 2025
Trump will not chicken out of his entire tariff agenda.
—Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
Toss affected ready-to-eat chicken out, USDA says No illnesses have immediately been reported in connection to the alert.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 7 May 2025
Raccoons can reach through and pull chickens out through holes.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 7 May 2025
The movie dips a toe in the waters of body horror but chickens out before diving in.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Chicken out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken%20out. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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