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

During its beginning stages, Thomas was set on telling stories about his childhood and trying too hard to make people laugh.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He seemed to dismiss critics who predicted the executive order’s changes could lead to a resurgence of childhood diseases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Devour some books … and pizza: Pizza Hut’s Book It! program, which rewarded children for reading with personal pan pizzas, is part of the lore of countless childhood readers turned adults.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

The gold industry "doesn't benefit the local communities here", said the 45-year-old, who has brought his herd to the mountains each summer since childhood.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

“You used to help me all the time, my Ace of Hearts. All the experiments we conducted to uncover the nature of our light. We spent our childhood together. That ought to count for something.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

Rothwell's role in Coronation Street had been written with him in mind - as the creator Tony Warren had worked with him during their childhoods on BBC Radio's Children's Hour.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

Mr. Windolf, a journalist, begins by detailing how similar his subjects’ childhoods were.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

So many people in Village—including Matty—had sad memories of their childhoods.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry