chicken out

British  

verb

1. informal (intr, adverb) to fail to do something through fear or lack of conviction

---

chicken out Idioms  

1. Back out from fear, lose one's nerve, as in In the end I chickened out and took the easier route down the mountain. Chicken is a popular synonym for “cowardly,” a usage arising in the 1600s and 1700s but then apparently abandoned until the 20th century. [Slang; c. 1930]

---

Example Sentences

Talking to the only other couple who managed not to chicken out like we did, I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when they learned we’d left in the midnight hour.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025

“We gave them the freedom to finish it, and not cop out. We didn’t want to chicken out of anything.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2022

And now Chelsi Stone is glad she didn’t chicken out.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2022

I’d spread the chicken out like an open paperback and covered it with parsley, mushrooms and bread.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2020

And before I could chicken out, I began to sing “Over the Rainbow.”

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon