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hen

hen

62 1.0
An adult female chicken kept for laying eggs
  • noun
  • /hɛn/
translation icon : gallina
  • Our backyard has several hens that lay fresh eggs daily.
  • laying hens
  • hen's eggs
  • a hen house

So it's like they're going to eat them, whereas the hens will make eggs.

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Examples

  • All we know is we set the hen and the chicken does come out of the egg.

  • We were down to five hens, so I could get back without taking a breath.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I was going to get up and get a hen out there for dinner, but time got away.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Is it a hen with a tragic life or a beautiful life?

  • Ah, yes, the hens are magnificent.

  • What does the owner do on the farm where the laying hens are located?

    Academic text (1997)
  • I gently grasped the two eggs under the hen and pulled them out.

    Academic text (1992)
  • I'm gonna gather up the hens and I'm gonna leave.

  • Farmers who take care of the laying hens for corporations generally receive depression-type wages for their work.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Today, almost no farmer even raises and keeps laying hens for the family's supply of eggs.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

chicken
vshen
780 1.0

A bird kept on farms for eggs and meat

is the adult female of that domesticated bird species, not the species generally
layer
vshen
  • Specialized
8 6.3

A hen kept for its eggs rather than for meat

is the general adult female bird not defined by production purpose
biddy
vshen
  • Informal
1 9.6

A grown hen kept for eggs

is the neutral standard term for an adult female bird used widely

Idioms

as a wet hen
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Very unhappy and angry about something

mad as a wet hen
  • Informal
1 9.8

Very angry or upset

Feeling very angry and upset

Very sad and upset, often after something bad happens

9.4

Feeling very angry and upset

Compounds

1 3.3

A party for a woman about to get married with only her female friends

mother hen
  • Informal
1 5.1

A person who cares for and protects others and often worries about them

1 8.6

A large brown bird that lives in dry areas with low sage bushes in North America

brood hen
  • Jargon
5.3

A hen that sits on eggs until they hatch

A hen that sits on eggs to keep them warm until they hatch

fat hen
  • UK
8.1

A common wild plant with leaves you can eat and cook like spinach

mallee hen
  • Australian
9.9

A large female ground bird from Australia that builds big nesting mounds and looks after eggs

maori hen
  • New Zealand
9.9

A large flightless bird from New Zealand with short wings and a small sharp spur that often steals shiny things

marsh hen
  • Specialized
7.7

A small bird that lives in marshes, like the American coot

A hen that has chicks and cares for them

A small seabird that flies low over the sea, often near storms

mud hen
  • US
7.1

A medium water bird with dark feathers that swims in lakes and ponds

8.3

A female large wild bird with grey brown feathers like a grouse

A female bird with grey spotted feathers like a chicken

Meat from a guinea fowl that people cook and eat

A garden plant with hanging bell-shaped flowers that are purple and white in a checkered pattern

9.9

A large wild bird like a prairie chicken that lived in eastern North America and is now extinct

8.7

A medium bird of prey with long wings and tail that flies low to hunt over marshes and open land

9.2

A bird that kills and eats chickens

A large mushroom you can eat that has many overlapping caps and grows at the base of trees

Meat from a female turkey is more tender and tastes milder

3.6

A small fenced area where hens live

A large edible mushroom with many overlapping caps that looks like a hen and grows at the base of trees

A female wild bird that is the ancestor of domestic chickens

A small young chicken raised for eating, often roasted

A hen that sits on eggs to keep them warm until they hatch

5.1

A small bird that lives near water like a moorhen or coot

wood hen
  • New Zealand
9.8

A flightless bird from New Zealand with small spikes on its wings that is bold and curious

How Young

chick
123 1.0
poussin
9.3
pullet
  • Specialized
1 8.6
hen
62 1.0

Surface Forms

hen singular
hens plural

Etymology

Hen comes from an old English word that simply meant 'female bird', so the image to remember is an adult female bird sitting in the yard. That's why hen today names an adult female chicken or, more generally, a female bird.