parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈper-ən-tiŋ 

1

: the raising of a child by its parents

2

: the act or process of becoming a parent

3

: the taking care of someone in the manner of a parent

Synonyms of parenting

• parenthood
• raising
• maternity
• mothering

Examples of parenting in a Sentence

They share the responsibilities of parenting.

as the big day approaches, the expectant couple are starting to get worried about their fitness for parenting

Recent Examples on the Web

At the Ramsey County Family Service Center in Maplewood, as many as 65 adults and children at a time are offered up to four consecutive months of crisis housing, food and onsite medical and dental services, as well as assistance navigating employment, transportation, tutoring and parenting skills. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 19 Apr. 2026

In the nineteen-fifties, television had been touted by the likes of the parenting luminary Benjamin Spock and the prominent psychoanalyst Erik Erikson as potentially beneficial to children, but by the late nineteen-sixties the bloom was off the rose. —Jean Garnett, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026

Phillip Levine, an economist at Wellesley College, said the birth rate has declined due to shifts in how women approach work, leisure, and parenting. —Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

Most online parenting groups are geared toward younger kids. —The Editors, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing parenting

• attachment parenting
• foster parenting

Kids Definition

parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈpar-ənt-iŋ 

ˈper-

: the raising of a child by its parents

Medical Definition

parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈpar-ənt-iŋ, ˈper- 

: the raising of a child by its parents