verb
remove oneself from an obligation
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He bowed out when he heard how much work was involved
• Hyponyms: ↑resile
• Verb Frames:
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Somebody ——s
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Somebody ——s PP
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chicken out (informal; often with of)
To desert, quit, through losing one's nerve or cowardice
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Main Entry: ↑chick
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ˌchicken ˈout [intransitive] [present tense I/you/we/they chicken out he/she/it chickens out present participle chickening out past tense chickened out past participle chickened out] informal phrasal verb
to not do something you were going to do because you are too frightened
I was going to tell her how much it really cost, but I chickened out.
Thesaurus: to not act, or to not do somethingsynonym to be, or to become afraid or frightenedsynonym
Main entry: chicken
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chicken out [phrasal verb]
informal : to decide not to do something because you are afraid
He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.
• • •
Main Entry: ↑chicken
Useful english dictionary. 2012.