chicken out en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.
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.
2022 June 29, K Shanmugam, “Hard Talk: K. Shanmugam: Will Singapore have to choose between the US and China?”, in BBC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chickening out | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| chickens out | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| chickened out | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| chickened out | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
bottle out · wuss out · wimp out · bottle it
Translations (39)
ru испуга́ться (shy away from a daring task) · es apajuilarse (shy away from a daring task) · pl stchórzyć (shy away from a daring task) · ru усса́ться (shy away from a daring task) · fr lâcher l'affaire (shy away from a daring task) · es jiñarse (shy away from a daring task) · it tirarsi indietro (shy away from a daring task) · pl tchórzyć (shy away from a daring task) · sv fega ur (shy away from a daring task) · de davor zurückschrecken (shy away from a daring task) · es apulismarse (shy away from a daring task) · fr se dégonfler (shy away from a daring task) · es papelonearse (shy away from a daring task) · ru засса́ть (shy away from a daring task) · es ciscarse (shy away from a daring task) · ru забзде́ть (shy away from a daring task) · th ป๊อด (shy away from a daring task) · pt amarelar (shy away from a daring task) · ru обосра́ться (shy away from a daring task) · es arratonarse (shy away from a daring task) · fa جا زدن (shy away from a daring task) · pt acovardar-se (shy away from a daring task) · fr laisser tomber (shy away from a daring task) · fi jänistää (shy away from a daring task) · es apendejarse (shy away from a daring task) · es achumicarse (shy away from a daring task) · uk злякатися (shy away from a daring task) · nl terugdeinzen (shy away from a daring task) · eu kikildu (shy away from a daring task) · fr lâcher (shy away from a daring task) · ru обосса́ться (shy away from a daring task) · de Schiss kriegen (shy away from a daring task) · ru усра́ться (shy away from a daring task) · es rajarse (shy away from a daring task) · ru стру́сить (shy away from a daring task) · es achicopalarse (shy away from a daring task) · es aculillarse (shy away from a daring task) · de kneifen (shy away from a daring task) · es apencarse (shy away from a daring task)