"cobra chicken" means a canada goose (). It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
cobra chicken
(chiefly, _, Canada, US, slang, humorous) A Canada goose ().
ˈkoʊbɹə ˈt͡ʃɪkənDocumented since 2010s2010sGen ZtrendingHistorical140 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~2010 · 1 year of recorded useDefinitions
Global
#1·Apr 26, 2026Global
(chiefly, _, Canada, US, slang, humorous) A Canada goose ().
Origin: From a likening of the bird to a cobra due to its tendency to warn off threats by rearing its long-necked head and hissing. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
For parents
"cobra chicken" means a canada goose (). It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
For ESL learners
"cobra chicken" is informal English meaning a canada goose (). It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a canada goose ()" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "cobra chicken" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
Heard in the wild
“He comes back to us after and says, "I do not like the cobra chicken." The tweet gained over 98,000 retweets and 445,000 likes (shown below). [![what the heq @bibliophileq Follow I work with a guy from Mexico who doesn't speak a lot of English.”
— Firecrawl: Cobra Chickens | Know Your Meme· Jun 2018
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "cobra chicken" (C)
cobber upcobblestone icecobbraCobb saladcob-floaterCOBRAco-brothercobstonecobwebcobweb sitecocaine cowboycockabully
Browse all slang words starting with C.