How to use hen in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb, adverb

Hen means a female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs. Example: “Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.”

Examples of hen by meaning

nounA female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl.

In Tain, north of Inverness, staff detected 11 males and at least seven hens – the highest number there since 2011.2023 June 17, Severin Carrell, “Dancing Capercaillie bird makes a tentative comeback in Scotland”, in The Guardian

nounAn affectionate term of address used to women or girls.

Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.

verbSynonym of mother-hen.

Once he had flared up, "If ever a man was henned, it's me!"1943, McCall's - Volume 71, page 69
Mammy henned the black workers into placing the trunks beside the girls.1984, Susan C. Feldhake, Love Beyond Surrender, page 52

More sentences with hen

All hens in the laying house have ad lib access to feed.From the entry ad lib
While I was cleaning the kitchen cupboards, I ran across Mother's recipe for Cornish game hens.From the entry run across
The hens are off the lay at present.From the entry lay
Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.From the entry blind
The women thought it would be quite a giggle to have a strippergram at the bride's hen party.From the entry giggle
As for which hen we'll cull for next Sunday's dinner, we certainly won't eat Henrietta yet — she's still a prime layer.From the entry layer
A brooding hen can be aggressive.From the entry brooding
Like a cat he crawled through the pines, watching the hen pheasant.2025, Daniel P. Mannix, The Fox and the Hound. From the entry upcraned
My other brother Gust Jensen and his friend, Paul Zachar, were out hunting for spruce hen, too.2013, Barbara Atwater, Walter's Story: Pedro Bay, Alaska -- Past, Present, and Distant Memories, →ISBN. From the entry spruce hen
The industrial practice of caging commercial laying hens has given caged housing a bad narne.2010, Gail Damerow, Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition, →ISBN. From the entry cage
Tiaras are common accessories at school dances, kids’ birthday parties and hens’ nights.2008, Karen Brooks, Consuming Innocence: Popular Culture and Our Children, University of Queensland Press, page 239. From the entry hens' night
My grandmother got me some guinea eggs once, to put under one of those hens.2003 November 29, DittyDu...@webtv.net, “Thanksgiving over, now TRUTH!”, in alt.fifty-plus.friends. From the entry potrack
He had been gobbling at the slightest sound of my hen calls earlier.1984, Ken Warner, Gun Digest, 1985, page 16. From the entry cranked up
Muslim women do not "hen peck" or question their husband's late arrival home, activities, or whereabouts.1982, Robert E. Dunton, Out where the day begins, page 89. From the entry hen peck
It is a massive campaign not carried on by sophisticated ‘hen conventions’ or ‘gentle ladies’ organisations.1980, V[aidyanathapuram] R[ama] Krishna Iyer, Minorities, Civil Liberties, and Criminal Justice, New Delhi: People’s Publishing House…. From the entry radicalise
Birds are as popular as animals in the toy kingdom, especially pigeons, owls and domestic hens.1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 54. From the entry animal
Writers suffering from hyphenitis produce pages which look very much like a speckled hen.1961, Jack T. Huber, Report Writing in Psychology and Psychiatry, page 80. From the entry hyphenitis
Say I pick you up and tootle you over with your hens.1953, Angela Thirkell, chapter 3, in Jutland Cottage. From the entry tootle
As it is in the brown hen, or even a sow.1925, D. H. Lawrence, Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine and Other Essays: .. Love Was Once a Little Boy. From the entry desirableness
Even the common scold heartily despises the husband she can “hen peck.”1919, Minnie Bronson, The Woman Patriot - Issues 3-4, page 8. From the entry hen peck
A sitting hen kept free from lice will mean liceless chicks.1916, Extension Bulletin, page 15. From the entry liceless
When a hen shows signs of broodiness remove her to the sitting-room.1911, Milo M. Hastings, The Dollar Hen. From the entry broodiness
To make matters worse, I kept finding hen partridges and their nests in the woods.1909, Forest and Stream, volume 73. From the entry frownlessly
While all toms—adult male turkeys—have beards, nearly 10 percent of hens also have one, albeit a much stubbier, wispier version.2022, Jenny McKee, “Let's Talk Turkey Beards”, in Audubon. From the entry beard
A woman fed a brood of lettuce hens taiyakis.2017, Grace H. Park, Victoria H. Park, Eric H. Parkerson, “Welcome to Afoodica”, in The Adventures of Hansel & Gretel: Afoodica (HEA vs…. From the entry taiyaki
I took care of the hens and the geese.2015, Cat Hellisen, Beastkeeper, New York, N.Y.: Square Fish, →ISBN, page 115. From the entry beastkeeper
Spruce hens are mostly found in or near spruce trees, and there are usually 10 to 20 in a flock.2014, Deborah Wood, The Legend of River Mahay, →ISBN. From the entry spruce hen
"Well," said Calvin, "we could go over to the chicken coop this afternoon when all the hens are inside laying eggs.2011, Connie M. Ramsey, Calvin Coyote and the Chicken Coop Caper, Mustang, Okla.: Tate Publishing & Enterprises, →ISBN. From the entry coop
He's mother henning and driving me crazy.2010, T.M. Nielsen, Equites, page 541. From the entry mother hen
One of his hens was being attacked by an amethyst starling, plucking her downy feathers to line its nest.2010, Per Wästberg, translated by Tom Geddes, chapter 10, in The Journey of Anders Sparrman, London: Granta, →ISBN, page 172. From the entry amethyst starling
No need to explain where the lamb went or to shape your malfatti to look like hens' eggs.2009 January 11, Amanda Hesser, “1971: Mrs. Sebastiani’s Malfatti”, in New York Times. From the entry malfatti
Drake Mallards do not quack like hens.2008, L. Elliott, K. Colver, R. Moore, The Calls of Ducks and Geese, →ISBN, page 1. From the entry rhaeb
Among the so-hip-it-hurts couples and civilians, hens’ night group (bachelorette party) there; all giggles and squeals in the corner.2006, Stacey DeMarco, Witch in the Bedroom: Proven Sensual Magic, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, page 33. From the entry hens' night
Hen number four was another bantam, living with three or four similar birds in one of the breeding arks.2005, Martin Gurdon, Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, page 26. From the entry Toblerone
Baths are very healthy during "eggnancy" and also while the hen is sitting on the nest after she's laid.2002 June 29, CreativeAlchemy, “Re: Help!!! ASAP!!!!”, in rec.pets.birds (Usenet), message-ID <20020629072544.26817.00001732@mb-da.aol.com>. From the entry eggnancy
Try the whole filet mignon, roast duckling, green lasagna, choucroute garni, Cornish hens, and the macedonia of fruit made each day.1991, New York Magazine, volume 24, number 50, page 94. From the entry macedonia

Meaning of hen

noun A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.
noun A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl.
noun A female fish (especially a salmon or trout) or crustacean.

Full definition of hen

Questions about hen in a sentence

How do you use hen in a sentence?: Hen is used as a noun, verb and adverb. For example: “Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.”
What is a short sentence with hen?: “A brooding hen can be aggressive.”
What does hen mean?: Hen means a female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.

Adapted from Wiktionary: hen (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use hen in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/hen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.