childcare

noun

child·​care ˈchī(-ə)ld-ˌker 

variants or child care

: the care of children especially as a service while parents are working

Erratic week-to-week work schedules make it nearly impossible to manage a personal budget or secure childcare.

—David Dayen

Examples of childcare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our state legislators should use their power to expand, not remove, high-quality, affordable childcare options that Hartford families and those throughout Connecticut desperately need. —Josette Walters, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2026

Surrounded by vicious and violent hitmen that have been pressed into service as childcare, Juan Pablo must reckon with his father's crumbling power and find his own way in the world after his death. —K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026

Practical challenges like cost, transportation, scheduling, childcare or work are getting in the way of care. —CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026

Union leaders and federal officials say empty gas tanks, childcare expenses and the threat of eviction keep more screeners from showing up the longer the shutdown continues. —ABC News, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for childcare

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• compare
• cookware