Meaning:
Literally this term refers to “chickens raised for meat.” However, Chinese netizens have used it to refer to a zombie — a computer connected to the Internet that has been compromised by a hacker, computer virus or trojan horse program and can be used to perform malicious tasks of one sort or another under remote direction. They used the term in this sense perhaps because “a chicken raised for meat” sounds like an easy prey.
Example:
A: 我的电脑最近上网速度特别慢，我怀疑是不是被人当肉鸡了。
Wǒ de diànnǎo zuìjìn shàngwǎng sùdù tèbié màn, wǒ huáiyí shìbùshì bèi rén dāng ròujī le。
I’ve found my computer has a very slow accesss to the Internet these days, and I suspect that some hacker has turned it into a zombie.
B: 你让小李帮你看看吧，他是电脑高手。
Nǐ ràng xiǎolǐ bāng nǐ kànkàn ba, tā shì diànnǎo gāoshǒu。
You’d better let Xiao Li check it up for you. He’s got a knack for computer stuff.
(Edited by Stephanie Yang)