kid

¹

[kid]

noun

1. Informal.,  a child or young person.

2. (used as a familiar form of address.)

3. a young goat.

4. leather made from the skin of a kid or goat, used in making shoes and gloves.

5. a glove made from this leather.

verb (used with or without object)

kidded, kidding 

1. (of a goat) to give birth to (young).

adjective

1. made of kidskin.

2. Informal.,  younger.

   his kid sister.

kid

²

[kid]

verb (used with object)

kidded, kidding 

1. to talk or deal jokingly with; banter; jest with.

   She is always kidded about her accent.

   Synonyms: rib, josh, tease

2. to humbug or fool.

verb (used without object)

kidded, kidding 

1. to speak or act deceptively in jest; jest.

Kid

³

[kid]

noun

1. Thomas. Kyd, Thomas.

kid

¹

/ kɪd /

noun

1. the young of a goat or of a related animal, such as an antelope

2. soft smooth leather made from the hide of a kid

3. informal

   1. a young person; child

   2. (modifier) younger or being still a child

      kid brother

      kid sister

4. dialect,  my younger brother or sister

verb

1. (of a goat) to give birth to (young)

kid

²

/ kɪd /

verb

1. (tr) to tease or deceive for fun

2. (intr) to behave or speak deceptively for fun

3. (tr) to delude or fool (oneself) into believing (something)

   don't kid yourself that no-one else knows

Kid

³

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (Thomas) Kyd

kid

⁴

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a small wooden tub

Other Word Forms

• kiddish adjective
• kiddishness noun
• kidlike adjective
• kidder noun
• kiddingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of kid¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English kide, from Old Norse kith

Origin of kid²

First recorded in 1805–15; perhaps special use of kid ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of kid¹

C12: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse kith, Shetland Islands kidi lamb

Origin of kid²

C19: probably from _kid ¹

Origin of kid³

C18: probably variant of _kit ¹ (in the sense: barrel)

Idioms and Phrases

• handle with (kid) gloves
• kidding

Example Sentences

He ends up being held hostage by a couple of the locals while his kid procures what he’s looking for and almost gets into serious trouble herself.

From Salon

“You talk about a kid that did a 360. He’s representing what I believe is important to being a captain — dedication, holding people accountable. He’s doing everything right.”

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, they treated the desire to straight-ify themselves as something that kids are coming up with all on their own.

From Salon

"It's meant to break up sputum, but kids under two can't spit it out, so the mucus can be aspirated into the lungs, causing pneumonia - yet it is still prescribed."

From BBC

She says she often spends nights scrolling through shopping apps like Vinted, but wants to break this cycle for her kids.

From BBC

Related Words

• baby 
• boy 
• child 
• daughter 
• girl 
• infant 
• son 
• teenager 
• youngster 
• youth