Traditional
Still common
Definition
Chicken.
Example Sentence
"Roast chook for dinner tonight."
Where "Chook" Comes From
Believed to come from British dialect "chuck" or "chuckie," an old term for a chicken based on the clucking sound, which evolved into "chook" in Australian usage.
It became so entrenched that "chook" is now the default word for a live chicken in rural and suburban Australia alike, distinct from "chicken" as food.
How Aussies Actually Use It
Used for the live bird as much as the cooked meal — "roast chook for dinner tonight" treats it just like any other everyday food word.
Backyard chicken keepers almost universally call their flock "the chooks," and keeping chooks is a classic suburban Australian pastime.
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