childhood

[ chahyld-hood ]
See synonyms for childhood on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or period of being a child.

  2. the early stage in the existence of something: the childhood of the human race.

Origin of childhood

1
before 950; Middle English childhode,Old English cildhād.See child, -hood

Other words for childhood

Other words from childhood

  • pre·child·hood, noun

Words Nearby childhood

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

How to use childhood in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for childhood

childhood

/ (ˈtʃaɪldhʊd) /


noun
  1. the condition of being a child; the period of life before puberty

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