childminder

American

[chahyld-mahyn-der] / ˈtʃaɪldˌmaɪn dər /

noun

British.

a baby-sitter.

childminder British

noun

a person who looks after children, esp those whose parents are working

"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

Etymology

Origin of childminder

First recorded in 1940–45; child + mind + -er ¹

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.

See Examples For:

childminder

In her home in Carlton in Yorkshire, childminder Georgina Young makes gingerbread men with two four-year-olds she has cared for since they were babies.

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

Laura Timmis, 39, from Conwy said she was previously a childminder and struggled when there was "hidden dog poo" at beaches and other public spaces.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025

Currently a childminder is permitted to care for six children under the age of 12 but only three of those can be under compulsory school age and only one can be under a year old.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025

Catherine Burns, mum to two-year-old Leo and eight-month-old Maggie, said it depended on the childminder.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025

I volunteered to do it, to become a childminder for the people down the road.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023