kid

¹

[kid]

noun

1. Informal.,  a child or young person.

2. (used as a familiar form of address.)

3. a young goat.

4. leather made from the skin of a kid or goat, used in making shoes and gloves.

5. a glove made from this leather.

verb (used with or without object)

kidded, kidding 

1. (of a goat) to give birth to (young).

adjective

1. made of kidskin.

2. Informal.,  younger.

   his kid sister.

kid

²

[kid]

verb (used with object)

kidded, kidding 

1. to talk or deal jokingly with; banter; jest with.

   She is always kidded about her accent.

   Synonyms: rib, josh, tease

2. to humbug or fool.

verb (used without object)

kidded, kidding 

1. to speak or act deceptively in jest; jest.

Kid

³

[kid]

noun

1. Thomas. Kyd, Thomas.

kid

¹

/ kɪd /

noun

1. the young of a goat or of a related animal, such as an antelope

2. soft smooth leather made from the hide of a kid

3. informal

   1. a young person; child

   2. (modifier) younger or being still a child

      kid brother

      kid sister

4. dialect,  my younger brother or sister

verb

1. (of a goat) to give birth to (young)

kid

²

/ kɪd /

verb

1. (tr) to tease or deceive for fun

2. (intr) to behave or speak deceptively for fun

3. (tr) to delude or fool (oneself) into believing (something)

   don't kid yourself that no-one else knows

Kid

³

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (Thomas) Kyd

kid

⁴

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a small wooden tub

Other Word Forms

• kiddish adjective
• kiddishness noun
• kidlike adjective
• kidder noun
• kiddingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of kid¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English kide, from Old Norse kith

Origin of kid²

First recorded in 1805–15; perhaps special use of kid ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of kid¹

C12: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse kith, Shetland Islands kidi lamb

Origin of kid²

C19: probably from _kid ¹

Origin of kid³

C18: probably variant of _kit ¹ (in the sense: barrel)

Idioms and Phrases

• handle with (kid) gloves
• kidding

Example Sentences

This time I swam the corkscrew, a crazy stroke my kids learned at summer camp, where you do a freestyle stroke, roll into a back stroke, then over again into a freestyle stroke.

From Los Angeles Times

“When a goat finds itself between a rock and a hard place, our firefighters don’t kid around!”

From Los Angeles Times

Horses could be put to work at pack stations, equine therapy and rodeo schools for kids, the group says.

From Los Angeles Times

“You want to address the deficit in kindergarten and follow it so you can make sure kids aren’t going to middle school without these basic skills,” Zoroya said.

From Los Angeles Times

"If you've got bits your kids have grown out of, please pass them on. It's such a small thing, but it could mean the world to another family."

From BBC

Related Words

• baby 
• boy 
• child 
• daughter 
• girl 
• infant 
• son 
• teenager 
• youngster 
• youth