child

noun, often attributive \ ˈchī(-ə)ld \

|Updated on: 23 Jun 2018

Examples: child in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Is the word kid slang?

Definition of child

plural children play \ˈchil-drən, -dərn\

1 a : an unborn or recently born person

b dialect : a female infant

2 a : a young person especially between infancy and youth

a play for both children and adults

b : a childlike or childish person

He is a child in most business matters.

c : a person not yet of age

Under the law she is still a child.

3 usually childe play \ˈchī(-ə)ld\ , archaic : a youth of noble birth

4 a : a son or daughter of human parents

Do you have any children?

b : descendant

the children of Israel

5 : one strongly influenced by another or by a place or state of affairs

a child of the streets

a child of nature

America has been called "the first child of the Enlightenment"

6 : product, result

barbed wire … is truly a child of the plains
—W. P. Webb

—

childless

play \ˈchī(-ə)l(d)-ləs\ adjective

—

childlessness

noun

— with child

: pregnant

See child defined for English-language learners

See child defined for kids

Examples of child in a Sentence

the birth of a child
She's pregnant with their first child.
a play for both children and adults
All of their children are grown now.
an elderly couple and their adult children
Men are such children sometimes.

Recent Examples of child from the Web

The majority of those families are women and children.

— wheeler mission, Indianapolis Star, "True to its roots: Wheeler Mission focuses on women and homelessness," 20 June 2018
Sessions used the Bible to defend the Trump administration's immigration policy separating children and parents at the border.

— joseph holt, Fortune, "I’m a Biblical Scholar. It’s Clear That Jeff Sessions Needs a Bible Lesson," 20 June 2018
The American Medical Association is urging the Trump administration to stop separating children and parents crossing the nation's border, noting that childhood trauma can affect people for the rest of their lives.

— lisa schencker, chicagotribune.com, "American Medical Association urges U.S. to end 'inhumane' zero tolerance immigration policy," 20 June 2018
This was on top of the systemic rape and torture of black women and children and the subsequent lynchings of black folks every year directly by, or with the tactic consent of, the police.

— jason johnson, The Root, "It’s Not Slavery, It’s Not Japanese Internment: Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Like the Great Migration," 20 June 2018
Everybody who's caught gets criminally prosecuted, not just deported, which is where the separation of children and parents happens.

— teresa watanabe, latimes.com, "Janet Napolitano, former Homeland Security chief, explains why she said no to family separation," 20 June 2018
One attorney said Trump's order, if carried out, wouldn't actually require children and parents to be held in the same detention facility.

— hamed aleaziz, SFChronicle.com, "Analysis: Why Trump’s attempt to lengthen detentions for immigrant minors will likely fail," 20 June 2018
Here are the proposals: The Senate The plan: Stop family separation at the border by instead detaining parents and children together as courts determine their status.

— felicia gans, BostonGlobe.com, "These are the proposals to end separation of families at the border," 20 June 2018
Under the measure, children and their parents would remain together during their legal proceedings.

— bill glauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Ron Johnson pushes bill to keep families together at southern border," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'child.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of child

Middle English, from Old English cild; akin to Goth kilthei womb, and perhaps to Sanskrit jaṭhara belly

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

child Synonyms

Child

biographical name \ ˈchī(-ə)ld \

Definition of Child

Francis James 1825–1896 American ballad editor

Child

biographical name

Definition of Child

Julia (Carolyn) 1912–2004 née McWilliams American chef

CHILD Defined for English Language Learners

child

noun

Definition of child for English Language Learners

: a young person
: a son or daughter
: an adult who acts like a child : a childlike or childish person

CHILD Defined for Kids

child

noun \ ˈchīld \

Definition of child for Students

plural children \ˈchil-drən\

1 : an unborn or recently born person

2 : a young person of either sex between infancy and youth

3 : a son or daughter of any age

My children are grown now.

Medical Dictionary

child

noun \ ˈchī(ə)ld \

medical Definition of child

plural children play \ˈchil-drən, -dərn\

1 : an unborn or recently born person

2 : a young person especially between infancy and youth

— with child

: pregnant

Law Dictionary

child

noun

legal Definition of child

plural children

1 : a son or daughter of any age and usually including one formally adopted — compare issue

Note: The word child as used in a statute or will is often held to include a stepchild, an illegitimate child, a person for whom one stands in loco parentis, or sometimes a more remote descendant, such as a grandchild. In interpreting the word child as used in a will, the court will try to effectuate the intent of the person who made the will as it can be determined from the language of the will.

2 : a person below an age specified by law : infant, minor