chicken out

verb

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

If the juices run clear, you can take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

From The Daily Beast

Well, I'll bet you can't get a chicken out of our barn 'thout our Dog gettin' you, Mr. Smarty.

From Project Gutenberg

It was like the grip of home, and the lost Earth, and the fear that he would chicken out and return.

From Project Gutenberg

The puzzle was to make a chicken out of an orange with four cuts of the scissors and the prick of a pin.

From Project Gutenberg

All I need do is to wait right here around the corner, and if he brings a chicken out, I'll simply tell him to drop it.

From Project Gutenberg

With amusing bluntness he sent the chicken out to be killed before he ate it, complaining that the eggs were not hard enough.

From Project Gutenberg