chicken out
/ˌtʃɪkɪn ˈaʊt/SLANG · C2
Meaning
to decide not to do something because you are scared
Examples
- 1Aisha had booked a skydiving lesson, but she chickened out the night before.
- 2Don't chicken out now; you've practised your speech for weeks.
- 3Priya had planned to tell her boss she was leaving, but she chickened out and stayed another year.
- 4We all signed up for the charity swim in the sea, but Tom chickened out when he felt the water.
- 5If you chicken out now, you'll never know whether you'd have got the job.
Grammar
Only chicken changes: chickens, chickened, chickening. To name the abandoned activity, use of followed by a noun or -ing form.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about decisions
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →bite the bulletto make yourself do something unpleasant you have been avoidingstick to your gunsto refuse to change your decision when others disagreethe lesser of two evilsthe less bad of two bad optionsspoilt for choicehaving so many good options that it is hard to pickhave a change of heartto start to think or feel differently about a decisionerr on the side of cautionto choose the safer option to avoid any risk
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
