DictionaryAI

chickening

verb
US · UKCHIK-in-ing/ˈt͡ʃɪkɪnɪŋ/AUSCHIK-uhn-ing/ˈt͡ʃɪkənɪŋ/

1 meaning of chickening

Practice

  1. 1
    verb
    Present participle and gerund of chicken.

    She kept chickening out every time it was her turn to speak.

    Chickening out at the last second cost him the whole bet.

    Note

    The -ing form does double duty here. It is progressive in "she kept chickening out" and a noun in "chickening out cost him the bet." The verb is intransitive, so it takes no direct object, and in practice it almost always travels with the particle out. It carries the same derogatory slang edge as chicken in the sense "a coward," so it belongs in casual talk, not formal writing.

chickening is a form of chicken

chicken, verb: To back out of something because of fear, usually in the phrasal verb chicken out. Full entry

Forms
chickenchickens he/she/itchickening -ing formchickened past tense, past participle
Spelling
chicken → chickening: add -ing

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