1
a
: a female chicken especially over a year old
broadly
: a female bird
b
: the female of various mostly aquatic animals (such as lobsters or fish)
2
: woman
especially
: a fussy middle-aged woman
Examples of hen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Everyone quashed the latter, not wanting a for-profit fox in the non-profit hen house.
—
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024
Their last encounter was just the week before, when the tom came in with hens but wouldn’t work into shotgun range.
—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 9 May 2024
An aviary and chicken coop offer children a place to check out birds, chickens and hens.
—Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 8 May 2024
Even better, get in the woods with live hens and call to them.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2024
The average hen produces around 250 eggs a year, according to the Intermountain Farmers Association.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Cal-Maine, the largest producer and distributor of eggs in the U.S., said Tuesday that one of its facilities in Texas tested positive for the virus, leading to the culling of 1.6 million laying hens — approximately 3.6% of its total flock.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
His go to decoy setup is a Dave Smith Decoys full-strut jake with a couple hens.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 3 Apr. 2024
Personnel at the company killed about 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 young hens to curb the spread of the virus.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024
Their last encounter was just the week before, when the tom came in with hens but wouldn’t work into shotgun range.
—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 9 May 2024
An aviary and chicken coop offer children a place to check out birds, chickens and hens.
—Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 8 May 2024
Even better, get in the woods with live hens and call to them.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2024
The average hen produces around 250 eggs a year, according to the Intermountain Farmers Association.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Cal-Maine, the largest producer and distributor of eggs in the U.S., said Tuesday that one of its facilities in Texas tested positive for the virus, leading to the culling of 1.6 million laying hens — approximately 3.6% of its total flock.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
His go to decoy setup is a Dave Smith Decoys full-strut jake with a couple hens.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 3 Apr. 2024
Personnel at the company killed about 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 young hens to curb the spread of the virus.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hen. Accessed 21 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hen
noun1
: a female chicken especially over a year old
2
: a female of any bird
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