poster child

noun

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of poster child

1 : a child who has a disease and is pictured in posters to solicit funds for combating the disease

2 : a person having a public image that is identified with something (such as a cause)

See poster child defined for English-language learners

Examples of poster child in a Sentence

She was a stirring speaker and activist and soon became the poster child of the antiwar movement.

Recent Examples of poster child from the Web

Jason Riley uses New York as the poster child for high spending in education with only middling test scores.

— WSJ, "Teachers’ Input Vs. Output," 6 May 2018
But in recent months, the agency has become a poster child for dysfunction again.

— emily wax-thibodeaux, Washington Post, "“What makes it stop?” Veterans say the agency needs less mayhem and more managment.," 24 Apr. 2018
The change for Twitter, meanwhile, comes amid comments from Dorsey that the poster child of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, will be the world’s universal currency in 10 years or so.

— lucinda shen, Fortune, "Twitter, Backed by Bitcoin Fan Jack Dorsey, to Bar Some Cryptocurrency Ads Starting Tuesday," 26 Mar. 2018
About the arrest, originally this was seen as a martyr and an innocent person, and that is because the media is always desperate to find their poster child for their specific issue.

— Fox News, "President Trump's CIA pick faces questions over her role in enhanced interrogation program," 14 Mar. 2018
Wellesley this week became the poster child for liberal intolerance, held up by the Kochs’ arch-conservative activist network as an example of how America’s higher education system is deeply flawed.

— annie linskey, BostonGlobe.com, "With patience, and a lot of money, Kochs sow conservatism on campuses," 2 Feb. 2018
Champ has become the poster child — er, dog — for Missouri House Bill 1649, which is sponsored by Rep. Robert Cornejo, a Republican from St. Peters, Mo., and would increase penalties for injuring or killing law-enforcement animals.

— tod palmer, matt campbell and kaitlyn schwers, kansascity, "After meeting injured Cass County K-9, Greitens announces support for ‘Champ’s Law’ | The Kansas City Star," 24 Jan. 2018
Renowned for both its beauty and its pivotal role in the founding of the United States, the 315-mile Hudson River became the poster child for the nation's polluted waterways in the 1970s.

— olivia abel, Country Living, "You Can Actually Stay Overnight In This Historic Hudson Valley Lighthouse," 8 May 2017
Asparagus is the poster child for spring vegetables, marking the season in light side dishes, salads, and main courses — in this case, pasta.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Recipes: Pasta dishes with fresh spring asparagus," 13 Apr. 2018

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

First Known Use of poster child

1938

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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POSTER CHILD Defined for English Language Learners

poster child

noun

Definition of poster child for English Language Learners

: a child who has a particular disease and is shown in posters to raise money to help fight that disease
: a person who represents or is identified with something (such as a cause or product)