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child
chicken² adj [F] slang cowardly
chicken³ v
chicken out phr v [I (off)] derog slang to decide not to do something because of being afraid: I wanted to tell the director what I thought, but I chickened out (of it) at the last minute.
chick-en-feed /'tʃɪkənfi:d/ n [U] slang a small unimportant amount of money: The bank offered to lend us £1000 but it's chickenfeed compared to what we need.
chicken flu n [U] infml another name for AVIAN FLU
chicken-fried 'steak n [C,U] AmE a thin piece of BEEF coated with BREADCRUMBS and cooked in hot fat
chicken 'Kiev n [U] a dish consisting of chicken breasts containing butter that has been given a special taste, especially with GARLIC and PARSLEY
Chicken 'Little a story for children in which a chicken called Chicken Little thinks that the sky is falling and persuades many other animal friends that great danger is coming
chicken-liv-ered /ˌtʃɪkən 'lɪvəd◂ ǁ -vərd◂ / adj AmE infml cowardly: You chicken-livered idiot!
chicken pox n [U] an infectious disease, caught especially by children, which causes a slight fever and spots on the skin
chick-en-shit /'tʃɪkənɪt/ n AmE taboo a person who lacks courage; COWARD
chicken wire n [U] wire netting with HEXAGONAL-shaped holes used especially for enclosing an area for chickens
chick lit n [U] infml humor books about young women and the typical things they do or the problems they have, especially books written by women for women to read
chick-pea /'tʃɪkpi:\\ ǁ also garbanzo, garbanzo bean AmE - n (the bushy plant that produces) a seed like the common PEA but bigger, which is often eaten as food. Chickpeas are used to make HUMMUS, a dish from the Middle East which is popular in the US and Britain.
chick-weed /'tʃɪkwi:d/ n [U] any of a large family of plants, especially a common garden WEED with small white flowers
chic-le /'tʃɪkəl/ n [U] the thickened juice (GUM) of a tropical American tree used in making CHEWING GUM
chic-o-ry /'tʃɔ:ri/ n [U] 1 a thick-rooted European plant with blue flowers whose leaves are eaten raw as a vegetable 2 a powder made from the dried crushed roots of this plant and sometimes added to coffee to give a special taste
chide /tʃaɪd/ v chided or chid /tʃɪd/, chid or children /'tʃɪdrən/ [I;T(for, with)] fml or lit to speak to (someone who has done wrong) angrily; REBUKE
chief¹ /tʃi:f/ n 1 [(off)] a leader, ruler, or head; the person in a group, party, organization etc who has the highest rank: The Queen is chief of the armed forces by right. | the chief of police (=of the police department) | an American Indian tribal chief 2 old-fash infml (used as a polite form of address by one man to another) 3 in chief lit most of all; in particular 4 -in-chief /ˌ· '·/ having the highest rank: In the Second World War Eisenhower was commander-in-chief of the Allied armed forces. 5 too many chiefs and not enough Indians infml too many people in charge of something, and not enough people to actually do the work
chief² adj [A] 1 highest in rank: the chief clerk | chief priest | the chief political correspondent on the Washington Post | the chief executive of IBM 2 most important; main: Rice is the chief crop in this area. | the chief cause of crime | the chief thing to remember | the prosecution's chief witness → see also CHIEFLY
chief 'constable n a British police officer in charge of the police in a large area
chief ,cook and 'bottle-,washer n infml humor a person who is in charge of an event, especially someone who has to do a lot of small unimportant jobs to make sure it goes well: 'Is there any more wine?' 'Ask my husband - he's the chief cook and bottle-washer today!'
chief ex'ecutive n 1 the head of a company; a chief executive officer 2 the Chief Executive AmE the President of the US
chief ex'ecutive ,officer n 1 AmE also CEO a MANAGING DIRECTOR 2 BrE someone in a higher position than the MANAGING DIRECTOR in a company
chief in'spector n (often caps.) a British police officer of middle rank: Chief Inspector Jones
Chief ' Justice n the most important judge in a country's legal system, especially the judge who is in charge of the US SUPREME COURT: Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
chief-ly /'tʃi:fli/ adv 1 mainly; mostly but not wholly: Bread is made chiefly of flour. | The accident happened chiefly as a result of carelessness. | The company is chiefly concerned with computer software. 2 above all; especially: Chiefly, I ask you to remember to write to your mother.
chief of 'staff n pl. chiefs of staff (often caps.) 1 a high-ranking officer in the armed forces who serves as main adviser to a commander 2 the high-ranking official who advises the leader of a service organization, or group of employees: the White House Chief of Staff 3 one of the JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
Chief 'Rabbi n the main religious leader of the Jewish people in a country. The UK and many other countries have a Chief Rabbi, but there is no Chief Rabbi in the US.
chief superin'tendent n (often caps.) a British police officer of high rank: Chief Superintendent Brown
chief-tain /'tʃi:ftən/ n the leader of a tribe or similar group, especially of a Scottish CLAN; chief -→-ship n [C;U]
Chief 'Whip, the n an important member of a British political party, whose job is to make sure that the party's Members of Parliament obey party orders and vote for the party in discussions → see also THREE-LINE WHIP
chif·fon /'ʃɪfɒn||'ʃɪfɑ:n/ n [U] a soft thin silky material used for scarves (SCARF), evening dresses etc: a pink chiffon night-dress
chig·ger /'tʃɪgər/ n AmE a tiny insect which lives in tall grass. Chiggers bite animals and humans and suck blood.
chi·gnon /'ʃi:ɲn||-ɲɑ:n/ n Fr a knot of hair worn at the back of a woman's head
chi·hua·hua /tʃiˈwɑ:wɑ:/ n a type of very small dog
chil·blain /'tʃɪbleɪn/ n a red painful swelling usually on the toes or fingers, caused by coldness and poor blood supply
child /tʃaɪld/ n pl. children /'tʃɪldrən/ 1 a young human being of either sex, from before birth to the completion of physical development: I've lived in this house since I was a child. | The disease is common among young children. | She's an only child. (=she has no brothers or sisters) | (fig.) Peter's a child (=inexperienced) in money matters. → see USAGE 2 a son or daughter of any age: They have two children; their son is a doctor and their daughter is an architect. | Will you go and collect the children from school? 3 [(off)] someone who is very influenced by a stated person, place, or situation: We are all children of the nuclear age. 4 children should be seen and not heard a phrase used especially in Victorian times to tell children to be quiet and not talk. The phrase is now used to talk about this old-fashioned idea of how children should behave. 5 get someone/be with child old use or bibl to make someone/be PREGNANT 6 give me/us a child until it is seven and it is mine/ours for life a saying believed to have been expressed first by the Jesuits → see JESUIT 7 great/heavy with child old use or bibl (of a woman) near the time of giving birth → see also BRAINCHILD 8 never work with children or animals a phrase often said by people who work in the world of acting, as children and animals are believed to be difficult to work with, and also to get all the attention and praise because they are very sweet
A very young child, under the age of about 18 months, is a baby or (more formally) an infant. A child who has just learned to walk is a toddler. A child up to the age of 9 or 10 is sometimes called a little girl or little boy, especially by adults, and girl or boy can be used about anyone up to the age of about 20. Young people aged between 13 and 19 are usually called teenagers. Teenagers are sometimes called young adults, especially when their health or social behaviour is being discussed, for example in a newspaper article. A younger teenager may also be called an adolescent, but this word is rather formal and may show disapproval. The word youth is often used for an older male teenager (15+) in official