kindergartner
AmericanEtymology
Origin of kindergartner
From the German word Kindergärtner, dating back to 1870–75. See kindergarten, -er 1
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.
Shiffrin’s never been shy about acknowledging performance anxiety—this is a champ who still shows up to races with the butterflies of a kindergartner on the first day of school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
The route he took Jan. 25 was the same one he used each morning when he’d walk his kindergartner son to Odyssey Charter School.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
The first reporter sounded as panicked as possible and the government officials sounded like school teachers trying to calm down a kindergartner after they’ve soiled themselves in class.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2024
In her 2012 autobiography, Can’t Is Not an Option, Haley tells the story of how, as a kindergartner in her rural South Carolina elementary school, she was cast as Pocahontas in the Thanksgiving play.
From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2024
I stomped my foot on the ground like a kindergartner, then realized that wasn’t helping my case.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
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.
