childhood

American  

[chahyld-hood] / ˈtʃaɪld hʊd /

noun

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

• prechildhood
  noun

Etymology

Origin of childhood

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

Example Sentences

A taste of New England in West Hollywood, it quickly became known for fried clams and chowders harkening to Cimarusti’s Rhode Island childhood and plump lobster rolls filled with never-frozen lobster.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

I know for a fact that I am far from alone among baby boomers in having spent a great deal of my childhood and teenage years absorbing baseball lore.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

The book chronicles Suzanna’s life from childhood to the cusp of her 18th birthday, dwelling mostly on the minor variations of her weekly prison visits.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Earlier this year, Meta and YouTube lost a high-profile case brought in Los Angeles by a woman who alleged the companies were responsible for her childhood addiction to social media.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

The use of videotape in conjunction with systematic observation of children’s overt, physical responses to music: A research model for early childhood music education.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin