Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

chicken out

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.62 in modern English

Syllables: chick-en out
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.

Example Sentences

"We almost convinced his dad to ride the roller coaster, but he chickened out when he saw how high it went."
"I dismiss Reporters Without Borders. Completely nonsensical. We invited them in for a select committee hearing, and in the true heritage of free speech, they chickened out."

Inflected Forms

chickens out (present, singular) chickening out (participle, present) chickened out (participle, past) chickened out (past)

Derived Forms

TACO

Phrases

TACO out

Synonyms

bottle out wuss out wimp out bottle it back off pull out back down bow out

Questions

What does chicken out mean?: To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.

How to pronounce chicken out

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “chicken out”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “chicken out”.
Repeat and practice — Say “chicken out” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.