child abuse

noun

mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation.

Origin of child abuse

First recorded in 1970–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for child abuse

Contemporary Examples of child abuse

No one knows the sordid details of the child-abuse scandal better than Clohessy.
Can the Cardinals Find a Clean Pope?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
March 7, 2013
Another group found 65,700 child-abuse cases in 2009 in comparison with roughly 150,000 cases in 1992.
The Penn State Scandal: 7 Facts About Child Sex Abuse
Lizzie Crocker
November 22, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for child abuse

child abuse

noun

physical, sexual, or emotional ill-treatment or neglect of a child, esp by those responsible for its welfareSee also nonaccidental injury

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