poster child

noun

1
: a child who has a disease and is pictured in posters to solicit funds for combating the disease
2
: a person having a public image that is identified with something (such as a cause)

Examples of poster child in a Sentence

She was a stirring speaker and activist and soon became the poster child of the antiwar movement.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Contemporary buttermilk is a poster child for the importance of choosing ingredients with care. Emily Saladino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026 My favorite poster child for this is NASA’s in-development Power and Propulsion Element, which has a 60-kilowatt power system that its onboard propulsion system could use to push an 18,000-kilogram spacecraft to the moon using less than 3,000 kg of propellant. Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026 Tech giant Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company and the poster child of the AI boom, is banking its future on the rise of AI agents. Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026 Six times nominated without a win to her name, Amy Adams has become something of a poster child for this cause. Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for poster child

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of poster child was in 1938

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Poster child.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poster%20child. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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