child

[ chahyld ]
See synonyms for child on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural chil·dren [chil-druhn]. /ˈtʃɪl drən/.
  1. a person between birth and puberty or full growth: books for children.

  2. a son or daughter; offspring considered with regard to parents: All my children are married.

  1. a baby or infant: A child of six months can recognize family members.

  2. a human fetus: My sister is seven months pregnant with a healthy child.

  3. a childish person: He's such a child about money.

  4. a descendant: a child of an ancient breed.

  5. any person or thing regarded as the product or result of particular agencies, influences, etc.: Abstract art is a child of the 20th century.

  6. a person regarded as conditioned or marked by a given circumstance, situation, etc.: a child of poverty; a child of famine.

  7. British Dialect, Archaic. a female infant.

  8. Archaic. childe.

Idioms about child

  1. with child, pregnant: She's with child.

Origin of child

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English cild; akin to Gothic kilthai “womb”

Other words from child

  • child·less, adjective
  • child·less·ness, noun

Words Nearby child

Other definitions for Child (2 of 2)

Child
[ chahyld ]

noun
  1. Julia, 1912–2004, U.S. gourmet cook, author, and television personality.

  2. Lydia Maria (Francis), 1802–80, U.S. author, abolitionist, and social reformer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use child in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for child

child

/ (tʃaɪld) /


nounplural children
    • a boy or girl between birth and puberty

    • (as modifier): child labour

  1. a baby or infant

  1. an unborn baby: Related prefix: paedo-

  2. with child another term for pregnant

  3. a human offspring; a son or daughter: Related adjective: filial

  4. a childish or immature person

  5. a member of a family or tribe; descendant: a child of Israel

  6. a person or thing regarded as the product of an influence or environment: a child of nature

  7. Midland English and Western English dialect a female infant

Origin of child

1
Old English cild; related to Gothic kilthei womb, Sanskrit jathara belly, jartu womb

Derived forms of child

  • childless, adjective
  • childlessness, noun
  • childly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with child

child

In addition to the idiom beginning with child

, also see

  • second childhood

.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.