childhood

American  

[chahyld-hood] / ˈtʃaɪld hʊd /

noun

• childhoods
  plural

1. the state or period of being a child.

   Synonyms:

   girlhood, boyhood, youth

2. the early stage in the existence of something.

   the childhood of the human race.

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childhood British  

/ ˈtʃaɪldhʊd /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prechildhood
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• childhoods
  plural

Etymology

Origin of childhood

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

childhood childhoods

Writing meetings revolved around discussion of childhood memories and experiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

It may or may not be a culture clash that pits your middle-class childhood against your husband’s privileged one.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

But there were moments of his performance in which I recognized a young version of my own childhood monster.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Years later, that shared childhood favourite took on new significance when Patryk proposed on its shores.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Then we spend the rest of the lunch period talking about what Dad told me about Gram’s childhood and what I found in her closet.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

As if their unconventional childhoods weren’t troubled enough, Asa and Yuru’s twinship comes with another heavy burden: saving the world.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Over one-third of American children and a staggering 53 percent of Black children will be subjected to a child protective services investigation at some point in their childhoods.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Six players – England's Owen Hargreaves, Graeme Le Saux and Tony Dorigo, plus Scotland's Lyndon Dykes, Richard Gough and John Hewie – spent their entire childhoods abroad and are excluded from the analysis.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

More immediately, many parents fret about whether they have made a wise decision in trading their children’s childhoods for cash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

“I always thought the kids would spend their entire childhoods here. You know, having the same type of childhood you had. Being supported by the neighborhood. Knowing everyone by name.”

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser