hen
- Top 5000
Sense 1
- noun
- B2
A grown female chicken, kept mainly for its eggs.
The hen laid three eggs in the box under the bench.
Every morning I let the hens out and clean their coop.
A brown hen was scratching in the dust beside the barn.
Hens lay fewer eggs when the days get short in winter.
Common collocations: keep hens · a laying hen · hen house · the hen lays an egg · free-range hens
Part of: Animals
Sense 2 · less common
- noun
- C1
The female of any kind of bird.
The hen pheasant is dull brown, while the male shines with colour.
Only the hen sits on the eggs until the young birds hatch.
Common collocations: a hen pheasant · a hen bird · hen and cock
Part of: Animals
Forms
- plural
- hens