joint custody
noun
: custody (the legal right to take care of a child) shared by two people
The divorced parents have joint custody.
Examples of joint custody in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
North Escambia reported that police believe Thomas, who shares joint custody of the child with Owens, may have taken her.
—
Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
The court noted Peters owned homes in California, had joint custody of a daughter living in California with his (now former) wife, and, based on his credit card bills, had spent more days in the Golden State than anywhere else.
—Janet Novack, Forbes.com, 14 Jan. 2026
In the divorce, Kidman and Cruise settled on joint custody, the Daily Mail.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
He is recently divorced and has joint custody of his young daughter.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joint custody
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
The court noted Peters owned homes in California, had joint custody of a daughter living in California with his (now former) wife, and, based on his credit card bills, had spent more days in the Golden State than anywhere else.
—Janet Novack, Forbes.com, 14 Jan. 2026
In the divorce, Kidman and Cruise settled on joint custody, the Daily Mail.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
He is recently divorced and has joint custody of his young daughter.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joint custody
Cite this Entry
“Joint custody.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joint%20custody. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
