How do you use chicken as a noun?

Answer 1

The noun 'chicken' is a singular noun as a word for a type of bird. The plural noun is 'chickens'.

The noun 'chicken' is an uncountable noun as a word for the meat of this type of bird, a word for a substance.

The noun 'chicken' is a common gender noun, a word for a male or a female bird.

• The gender specific noun for a male chicken is 'rooster'.
• The gender specific noun for a female chicken is 'hen'.

A noun functions as the subject of a sentence or a clause, and as the (direct or indirect) object of a verb or the object of a preposition.

Example uses:

• Four chickens will be needed for the barbecue. (subject of the sentence, plural-countable)
• I found an egg in the nest that a chicken had laid. (subject of the relative clause, singular-countable)
• We made enough chicken for everyone. (direct object of the verb 'made', uncountable)
• They made the chickens a shelter. (indirect object of the verb 'made', plural-countable)
• We made the soup with leftover chicken. (object of the preposition 'with', uncountable)

Note: The noun 'chicken' is also an informal word for a contest between people in which the first person to lose nerve and withdraw from a daring or dangerous situation or activity is the loser.

The word 'chicken' is an informal adjective used to describe a person as timid or cowardly.