child support

noun

Definition of child support

: payment for the support of the children of divorced or separated parents while the children are minors or as otherwise legally required — compare alimony

Examples of child support in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Iseler was trying to collect two decades of unpaid child support. — Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, "He abandoned his family 25 years ago. Now Richard Hoagland owes them $2 million," 29 May 2018 And his former mistress won't back down in a fight over child support. — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Miguel Cabrera, ex-mistress headed to trial over child support in November," 22 May 2018 In March, Kelis and Nas reached a custody settlement regarding their son Knight Jones after years of child support disputes, according to TMZ. — Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Kelis Accuses Ex Nas of 'Mental and Physical Abuse' During 5-Year Marriage: 'It Was Really Dark'," 26 Apr. 2018 That's bad for the dad, whose rights to parenting the baby aren't protected, and that's bad for the baby because a father in a similar situation could walk out the door and never pay a dollar of child support, James argues. — Chelsea Brasted, NOLA.com, "Families are complicated. Louisiana law should catch up," 14 Mar. 2018 Earlier on Wednesday, Pitt’s lawyer spoke out against claims Jolie made about him not paying child support and called the accusations manipulative. — Tyler Mccarthy, Fox News, "Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt is trying to 'distract from the fact' he hasn’t paid child support," 2 Oct. 2018 But Bryce’s history of nine arrests, including for drunken driving, and being delinquent on child support to his ex-wife, could complicate his path to the seat. — Lisa Lerer, The Seattle Times, "Primary night takeaways: Diverse Democrats and Trump wins," 14 Aug. 2018 In November, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Bryce had been delinquent on child support, and paid up shortly after entering the campaign. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Kavanaugh’s paper trail makes his confirmation harder but ensures he’ll be reliably conservative," 10 July 2018 Guidelines outlining the manner in which child support must be calculated, based on income and the child(ren)'s needs. — Jennifer Lance, Glamour, "Your Divorce Glossary: A-to-Z Terms You Need to Know," 26 Nov. 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near child support

children of light

children should be seen and not heard

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Last Updated

18 Mar 2019

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The first known use of child support was in 1901

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More Definitions for child support

child support

noun

English Language Learners Definition of child support

: money that a former husband or wife must pay regularly to help raise a child

See the full definition for child support in the English Language Learners Dictionary

child support

noun

Legal Definition of child support

: payment made for the support of the children of divorced or separated parents while the children are minors or until they reach an age set by the separation agreement or in a court order — compare alimony

Note: Child support is usually paid by the parent who is without custody. In the case of joint custody, both parents usually pay child support.