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Is the word kid slang?
Some people worry that kid, when used of a child rather than a juvenile goat, is either slang or too colloquial to merit acceptance in standard English.
The fact is that we have been using kid to refer to a child that is human, rather than goatish, for more than three hundred years now. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that although this word was considered “low slang” when it first began being used, it had entered “familiar speech” by the 19th century.
In contemporary English, kid is neither slang nor improper. It is, however, most definitely informal, so those writing professionally or in a formal register might prefer to use child.
Synonyms
Examples of kid in a Sentence
Audrey Schomer, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
The kids’ bedroom is space-themed, with a replica solar system hanging from the ceiling.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
There’s literally a generation of kids that never got to see this lineup.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
There's nothing quite like settling in along the California coast with your kids in tow.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024
He has always been involved in his church, his kids' school and his community.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2024
In an intimate ceremony at Miley’s Malibu home, Tish, 56, married the Prison Break star, and only some of her kids were present for the nuptials.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024
Nowadays, the people that have to flee their homes from the north of Gaza are re-experiencing something that, generationally, has been transmitted by the grandparents to the parents, and from the parents to the new generation of kids.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024
The sickest and healthiest kids are separated by just under 1% of income.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2024
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
Cool cars, hot nuggets McDonald’s is bringing back a grown-up take on a kid classic: spicy chicken McNuggets.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2024
The series claims that kid actors were made to wear suggestive costumes and take part in inappropriate sketches with pornographic undertones.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024
Get suggestions of your next move from your kid brother.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Two change the entire tone and tenor of the trip and take four of my friends away from me, because they will now be tied up for hours each day with kid things.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
The Wolf is the kid sister of Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern, 234 E. Vine St, the ever-bustling breakfast joint in Brewers Hill.
—Journal Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2024
Related Articles Keeler: Joel Embiid made a kid cry and lost NBA MVP case to Nuggets star Nikola Jokic in one sad, sorry afternoon
Grading The Week: Todd Helton got his Hall of Fame nod.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2024
That's an increase of 199 horsepower over the Vitesse's kid brother, the Grand Sport, and the extra oomph is achieved mainly via its four larger turbochargers.
—Josh Max, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Harp gets kidded by one of his former players, Sean Brown, a member of the 1987 championship team who went on to Colorado.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Roberts arrived there soon enough and saw that the brothers weren’t kidding after all.
—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 20 Mar. 2024
Nash-Betts wasn't kidding about the couple's love of skinny-dipping.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 17 Mar. 2024
Webb, his rotation partner and close confidant, thought Cobb was kidding.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
That's all Ru said, just kidding with her, because that's what Ru does when the cameras are down.
—EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024
Over the past year or more, comparing consumers’ mood with data has sometimes felt like trying to figure out who’s kidding whom.
—Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Feb. 2024
News of Caitlin Clark incident reaches Mackey Don’t kid yourself.
—Gregg Doyel, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Jan. 2024
Carina Chocano, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Mar. 2023
Yolk gotta be kidding.
—Erin Cavoto, Country Living, 22 Mar. 2023
No, all – all kidding aside.
—Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2023
But Ballard wasn’t kidding.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2023
Italians have been kidding themselves.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2023
Dahl was kidding about the need to censor a cherished children’s story, but Dahl’s publisher isn’t.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2023
Brothers can't wait to kid him.
—Eric Sondheimer
columnist
follow, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2022
Can’t kid a kidder, fellas.
—Nick Canepacolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun, Adjective, and Verb (2)
Middle English kide, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse kith kid
Verb (1)
probably from kid entry 1
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a
Adjective
1895, in the meaning defined above
Verb (1)
1901, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Verb (2)
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing kid
Dictionary Entries Near kid
Cite this Entry
“Kid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kid. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
kid
2 of 2 verb
More from Merriam-Webster on kid
Nglish: Translation of kid for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of kid for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about kid
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