childless

adjective

child·​less ˈchī(-ə)l(d)-ləs 

: without children : not having a child or children

a childless couple

Some of the most active and happiest retirees I know are childless.

—David Rae

That's an outgrowth of the current program, which allowed states to expand to pregnant women, parents and childless adults with the administration's approval.

—Miami Times

Advisors usually distinguish between "childless" (no children today but perhaps tomorrow) and "childfree" (no children today or tomorrow).

—John Kador

When you're childless not by choice, Mother's Day can be a painful reminder of profound loss.

—Sian Prior

compare child-free

childlessness noun

Although society instructs us otherwise, parenthood or childlessness need not be the keystone of a woman's identity …

—Christine Pelton Hawkins

But neither is childlessness her clear preference: Things have simply worked out that way so far, and as she heads into her forties, she finds herself ruminating on the possibilities of it working out a little differently.

—Guy Lodge

Many of her fans recognized the mean-spirited nature of the tabloid response to her childlessness, and reached out on social media to support her.

—Jennifer Graham Kizer

Examples of childless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Everyone loves to offer parenting advice, especially grandparents and even the childless. —Sherri Gordon, Parents, 3 Mar. 2026

Meat Suit begins with a sketch in which three childless friends await a fourth, who’s recently given birth, at a café. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026

When Jana opts to go and help her daughter, Nikola, like other older men from the village, is left wifeless and childless. —Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026

But not all childless people are spenders. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026

Boyd was single, and Wheeler was known to be married but childless. —Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Audrey, the single and childless and PhD-less product of a stable but unhappy home, has fallen short of the life planned out for her by her parents. —Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026

Peg’s neighbor Ryan, a troubled young man recently released from jail, has become like a surrogate son to the childless Peg. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026

During the campaign, opponents criticized her for being unmarried and childless. —Margaret Barthel, NPR, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined above