kid

noun

\ˈkid

Definition of kid

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : a young person kids in high school especially : child a married couple with two kids —often used as a generalized reference to one especially younger or less experienced the kid on the pro golf tour you poor kid

2a : a young goat

b : a young individual of various animals related to the goat

3a : the flesh, fur, or skin of a young goat

b : something (such as leather) made of the fur or skin of a young goat gloves made of kid

kid

adjective

Definition of kid (Entry 2 of 4)

: younger my kid brother his kid sister

kid

verb (1)

kidded; kidding

Definition of kid (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1a : to deceive (someone) as a joke : to say untrue things to (someone) in a playful or joking way It's the truth; I wouldn't kid you. You've got to be kidding me. I kid you not.

b : to fail to admit the truth to (someone) They're kidding themselves if they think they can win.

2 : to gently criticize or tease (someone) in a friendly or good-humored way We kidded her about her old car.

intransitive verb

: to engage in good-humored fooling or horseplay He was just kidding with you. —often used with around She enjoys kidding around with her friends.

kid

verb (2)

kidded; kidding

Definition of kid (Entry 4 of 4)

intransitive verb

: to bring forth young —used of a goat or an antelope

Other Words from kid Synonyms & Antonyms Is the word kid slang? More Example Sentences Learn More about kid

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Other Words from kid

Noun

kiddish \ˈki-dish

\ adjective

Verb (1)

kidder noun

kiddingly \ˈki-diŋ-lē

\ adverb

Is the word kid slang?

Noun

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.

Examples of kid in a Sentence

Noun

She has to leave early and pick up her kids at school. He has a wife and two kids. I wish I could do something to help that poor kid.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The park offers a Night Explorer Junior Ranger program for kids who want to learn more about the starry sky. — Megan Michelson, Outside Online, "These Are the Best Stargazing Spots in North America," 13 July 2018 Implicit in this distinction is that for culture one should be ready to pay a price—in education, in patience, yes, even in dollars—but that viewing sports is a more public, democratic activity, open to all who are interested, kids among them. — Joseph Epstein, WSJ, "Don’t Take Me Out to the Ballgame—I Can’t Afford It," 12 July 2018 In one popular interpretation of comics history, American superhero comics started out as simple, pandering stories for kids, but have matured and become more sophisticated over time. — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, "The best superhero stories admit that superheroes are ridiculous," 11 July 2018 Storage underneath the seats holds bedding for the kids, while two adults—including my husband who is 6 feet 4 inches tall—sleep comfortably in the queen-size bed above thanks to flared sides. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "This custom camper van can sleep a family of 6," 11 July 2018 Free tickets for kids ages four and up are available. — Courant Community, "Community News For The Enfield Edition," 10 July 2018 Here's to raising funds for pediatric cancer research and holiday gifts for the kids! — Alysha Tsuji, For The Win, "Rob Gronkowski Gronk spiked a Buffalo Bills hat at a wedding," 7 July 2018 Unlike in American wedding parties, royal bridal attendants are typically kids, usually young relatives or children of the bride and groom's close friends. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Who Will Be the Page Boys in Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding?," 5 July 2018 Seldom to never are kids just playing, and learning it on their own. — Mac Engel, star-telegram, "Soccer's other problem aside from being a 'rich white kids sport'," 5 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Come for me’ But for Janet, the thought of her kid brother being sent into combat was too much to bear. — Jeremy Roebuck, Philly.com, "Ex-child soldiers say Delco man turned them into killers," 19 June 2018 Their kid sister, age 4, asked why everything was different. — Dan Gorenstein, Washington Post, "Choosing Between Death And Deportation," 22 May 2018 Take the case of my kid brother, Jack, who worked one summer in the 1980s as a house painter. — Mike Kerrigan, WSJ, "Summer Jobs Teach Real-World Lessons," 31 May 2018 Also, owner Scott Fisher prides himself on the safety of all his products, especially kid-favorite drones and hoverboards. — Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Toys R Us is closing. Visit these Milwaukee-area stores for your toy needs.," 15 Mar. 2018 Peyton seemed genuinely impressed with his kid brother's devil-may-care attitude. — Dwight Adams, Indianapolis Star, "Remember the 'Dirty Dancing' ad in the Super Bowl? Peyton Manning dissected brother Eli's moves," 27 Feb. 2018 Shout out to my kid sis @desmondisamazing on his NYFW runway debut for @gypsysport — 10 years old and already serving. . . . . . — Eileen Reslen, Cosmopolitan, "A 10-Year-Old "Drag Kid" Just Stole the Show at New York Fashion Week," 12 Feb. 2018 Their talent should be the real driving factor in attracting crowds, not the controversial appointment of Gary Neville's kid brother. — SI.com, "Phil Neville's Hiring as England Manager is an Insult to the Women's Team," 24 Jan. 2018 Her father was arrested for the killing of her mother but has since been released, and her kid sister Abby has been placed in foster care with a Philadelphia family. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Night Comes On': Film Review | Sundance 2018," 23 Jan. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

No goals and the only highlights of the half are the two Belgium yellows, a mockery of the notion of fair play that will not go unpunished when the history of this tournament is writ .... kidding. — Andrew Das, New York Times, "Belgium Beats England, but Faces Tougher World Cup Bracket," 29 June 2018 Bill Cosby kidding about Spanish Fly is not so funny anymore. — Josie Duffy Rice, The Atlantic, "The Gospel According to Pusha T," 12 July 2018 Jane loved the roadside attraction exhibit, which includes a part of a Philadelphia public transit bus, which kids board. — Ed Condran, courant.com, "Philadelphia Emerges As Colorful Travel Destination," 24 June 2018 Just kidding: There's definitely crying in the video. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "‘Bachelor’ Fans Are Losing It Over Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon's Unexpected Love Story," 23 May 2018 Just kidding, but really, that might be the future if Facebook’s vision for social VR comes to fruition. — Wired Staff, WIRED, "The Virtual Insanity of F8," 4 May 2018 Tim Rohan helps the citizens of Philadelphia burn the city down (kidding). — Conor Orr, SI.com, "The Morning (Er, Afternoon...) After Super Bowl LII," 5 Feb. 2018 But all kidding aside, Calipari insists his team is not that bad at outside shooting, even if the effort on this night added a few more gray hairs. — Sean Meagher, OregonLive.com, "NCAA Tournament 2018 scores: West Virginia vs Murray State," 16 Mar. 2018 All kidding aside, Verdone was quick to credit a San Clemente squad that has won two state titles in a row and had four of the six surfers in the boys' shortboard final. — Joe Haakenson, latimes.com, "Huntington Beach takes second at state surfing championships," 11 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Growing up, when other kids his age were goofing off with each other, the rapper born Darold Ferguson Jr. was instead shadowing his father, who owned a Harlem boutique and designed the iconic Bad Boy Records logo. — Dan Hyman, chicagotribune.com, "ASAP Ferg has taken everything — rap music, fashion, hype — by storm," 12 July 2018 Jakub Vrana and Andre Burakovsky weren't kidding about getting tattoos, apparently. — Jace Evans, USA TODAY, "The Washington Capitals haven't stopped partying since winning the Stanley Cup," 9 June 2018 Benjamin Hernandez isn't kidding himself about his chances of winning a seat in Congress. — Jeremy Wallace, Houston Chronicle, "Candidate with 'no chance in hell' running for Congress in Houston," 25 Apr. 2018 Herzfeld grew up in Queens, New York, as a musical theater kid herself, and went on to study at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. — Jennifer Calfas, Time, "Meet the Parkland Teacher Behind That Emotional Performance at the Tony Awards," 10 June 2018 Just kidding, but really, that might be the future if Facebook’s vision for social VR comes to fruition. — Wired Staff, WIRED, "The Virtual Insanity of F8," 4 May 2018 Bill Cosby kidding about Spanish Fly is not so funny anymore. — Josie Duffy Rice, The Atlantic, "The Gospel According to Pusha T," 12 July 2018 No goals and the only highlights of the half are the two Belgium yellows, a mockery of the notion of fair play that will not go unpunished when the history of this tournament is writ .... kidding. — Andrew Das, New York Times, "Belgium Beats England, but Faces Tougher World Cup Bracket," 29 June 2018 Jane loved the roadside attraction exhibit, which includes a part of a Philadelphia public transit bus, which kids board. — Ed Condran, courant.com, "Philadelphia Emerges As Colorful Travel Destination," 24 June 2018

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