noun
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Nouns
Etymology
Origin of childhood
before 950; Middle English childhode, Old English cildhād. See child, -hood
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Most of these miniatures and tone poems were inspired by Hopkins’ childhood — his parents, his hometown, the day the circus came.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Coyle lived in Australia for part of her childhood and traveled extensively growing up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Devour some books … and pizza: Pizza Hut’s Book It! program, which rewarded children for reading with personal pan pizzas, is part of the lore of countless childhood readers turned adults.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
The gold industry "doesn't benefit the local communities here", said the 45-year-old, who has brought his herd to the mountains each summer since childhood.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
The attorney offered letters written by Guiteau that demonstrated his erratic and often irrational behavior, starting from childhood.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
As if their unconventional childhoods weren’t troubled enough, Asa and Yuru’s twinship comes with another heavy burden: saving the world.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Over one-third of American children and a staggering 53 percent of Black children will be subjected to a child protective services investigation at some point in their childhoods.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Every Christmas, the couple also pays for the whole family to visit Marbella, Spain, where the sons spent a chunk of their childhoods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
"This resolution will ensure we are prioritising important skills and learning experiences for students, while protecting their childhoods and well-being by setting research-based screen time limits."
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
If the Olympic Peninsula truly is heart medicine for them, considering what happened in their childhoods.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
