childless

adjective

child·​less ˈchī(-ə)l(d)-ləs 

: without children : not having a child or children

a childless couple

Some of the most active and happiest retirees I know are childless.

—David Rae

That's an outgrowth of the current program, which allowed states to expand to pregnant women, parents and childless adults with the administration's approval.

—Miami Times

Advisors usually distinguish between "childless" (no children today but perhaps tomorrow) and "childfree" (no children today or tomorrow)

—John Kador

When you're childless not by choice, Mother's Day can be a painful reminder of profound loss.

—Sian Prior

compare child-free

childlessness noun

Although society instructs us otherwise, parenthood or childlessness need not be the keystone of a woman's identity …

—Christine Pelton Hawkins

But neither is childlessness her clear preference: Things have simply worked out that way so far, and as she heads into her forties, she finds herself ruminating on the possibilities of it working out a little differently.

—Guy Lodge

Many of her fans recognized the mean-spirited nature of the tabloid response to her childlessness, and reached out on social media to support her.

—Jennifer Graham Kizer

Examples of childless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1601, James VI of Scotland traveled to England to claim the throne as James I of England, following the childless Elizabeth I’s death. —Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025

End of the ‘childless cat lady’? —Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2025

The law imposes an 80-hour monthly work requirement on childless adults receiving Medicaid, increases state cost-sharing obligations, and tightens eligibility rules. —Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025

And some experts have taken it a step further and analyzed that based on this data, childless and spouseless women will be happier from it. —Jasmine Browley, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

After Cambyses died childless, various factions vied for the Persian throne. —Debbie Felton, The Conversation, 8 Aug. 2025

The Senate version extends the requirement to low-income parents of children older than 14, in addition to childless adults without disabilities. —Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 29 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined above