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Synonyms

child

1 American  
[chahyld] / tʃaɪld /

noun

plural

children

  1. a person between birth and puberty or full growth.

    books for children.

  2. a son or daughter; offspring considered with regard to parents.

    All my children are married.

  3. a baby or infant.

    A child of six months can recognize family members.

  4. a human fetus.

    My sister is seven months pregnant with a healthy child.

  5. a childish person.

    He's such a child about money.

  6. a descendant.

    a child of an ancient breed.

  7. any person or thing regarded as the product or result of particular agencies, influences, etc..

    Abstract art is a child of the 20th century.

  8. a person regarded as conditioned or marked by a given circumstance, situation, etc..

    a child of poverty; a child of famine.

  9. British Dialect, Archaic. a female infant.

  10. Archaic. childe.

idioms

  1. with child, pregnant.

    She's with child.
Child 2 American  
[chahyld] / tʃaɪld /

noun

  1. Julia, 1912–2004, U.S. gourmet cook, author, and television personality.

  2. Lydia Maria (Francis), 1802–80, U.S. author, abolitionist, and social reformer.

child British  
/ tʃaɪld /

noun

    1. a boy or girl between birth and puberty

    2. ( as modifier )

      child labour

  2. a baby or infant

  3. an unborn baby

  4. another term for pregnant

  5. a human offspring; a son or daughter

  6. a childish or immature person

  7. a member of a family or tribe; descendant

    a child of Israel

  8. a person or thing regarded as the product of an influence or environment

    a child of nature

  9. dialect a female infant

"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
child More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing child

Other Word Forms

  • childless adjective
  • childlessness noun
  • childly adjective

Etymology

Origin of child

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English cild; akin to Gothic kilthai “womb”

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.

“It’s something the child had before they were born,” Chung said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

When I was a child, my father warned me about answering the phone or the doorbell.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

“Reassure your child that you’re always going to take care of them no matter how much money is coming in.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

"Losing your child to a device is one of my biggest fears," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The other was half the size—a child with soft cheeks, red shoes, and a rope of auburn hair.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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.