kid

[kid]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR kid ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal. a child or young person.

(used as a familiar form of address.)

a young goat.

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

a glove made from this leather.

verb (used with or without object), kid·ded, kid·ding.

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

adjective

made of kidskin.

Informal. younger: his kid sister.

Origin of kid

1150–1200; Middle English kide < Old Norse kith

Related formskid·dish, adjectivekid·dish·ness, nounkid·like, adjective

kid

[kid]Informal.

verb (used with object), kid·ded, kid·ding.

to talk or deal jokingly with; banter; jest with: She is always kidded about her accent.

to humbug or fool.

verb (used without object), kid·ded, kid·ding.

to speak or act deceptively in jest; jest.

Origin of kid

First recorded in 1805–15; perhaps special use of kid¹

Related formskid·der, nounkid·ding·ly, adverb

Synonyms for kid

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR kid ON THESAURUS.COM

1. tease, josh, rib.

Kid

[kid]

noun

Thomas. Kyd, Thomas.

Kyd

or Kid

[kid]

noun

Thomas,1558–94, English dramatist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for kid

boy, infant, daughter, son, youth, teenager, child, baby, girl, youngster, joke, bother, tease, pretend, delude, lad, bairn, juvenile, lass, tot

Examples from the Web for kid

Contemporary Examples of kid

The kid from next door drops by and Marvin talks to him about the stunts in his latest film, Death Hunt.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
He stayed up all night, looking at the streets he had biked around as a kid with a whole new sensibility.
DJ Spooky Wants You To Question Everything You Know About Music, Technology, and Philosophy
Oliver Jones
December 27, 2014
After years at the head of a parochial school classroom, he could no longer distinguish one blond Irish Catholic kid from another.
Obama’s One Hand Clap With Castro
Doug McIntyre
December 24, 2014
“I was watching ‘Daniel The Tiger’ with my kid and I heard two shots like ‘boom-boom,’” he said.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police
M.L. Nestel
December 21, 2014
“I walk my kid to school, passed that cop car everyday,” he said.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police
M.L. Nestel
December 21, 2014

Historical Examples of kid

You were simply a kid that turned into a man in a day—and turned into a free man!
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
"You let that kid fight his own battles," said Henry Anderson roughly.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
And would a man be telling his heart's best secret to a kid like you?
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
And a kid of sixteen didn't have the judgment—couldn't have.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
I want to know where that kid with the cigarette was born, and what he thinks of the harbor!
The Harbor
Ernest Poole

British Dictionary definitions for kid

kid

noun

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

soft smooth leather made from the hide of a kid

informal

a young person; child
(modifier)younger or being still a childkid brother; kid sister

our kid Liverpool dialect my younger brother or sister

verb kids, kidding or kidded

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

Derived Formskiddishness, nounkidlike, adjective

Word Origin for kid

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

kid

verb kids, kidding or kidded (sometimes foll by on or along) informal

(tr) to tease or deceive for fun

(intr) to behave or speak deceptively for fun

(tr) to delude or fool (oneself) into believing (something)don't kid yourself that no-one else knows

Derived Formskiddingly, adverb

Word Origin for kid

C19: probably from kid 1

kid

noun

a small wooden tub

Word Origin for kid

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

Kid

noun

a variant spelling of (Thomas) Kyd

Kyd

Kid

noun

Thomas. 1558–94, English dramatist, noted for his revenge play The Spanish Tragedy (1586)

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

Word Origin and History for kid

c.1200, "the young of a goat," from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse kið "young goat"), from Proto-Germanic *kiðjom (cf. Old High German kizzi, German kitze, Danish and Swedish kid). Extended meaning of "child" first recorded as slang 1590s, established in informal usage by 1840s. Applied to skillful young thieves and pugilists since at least 1812. Kid stuff "something easy" is from 1913 (The phrase was in use about that time in reference to vaudeville acts or advertisements featuring children, and to children-oriented features in newspapers). Kid glove "a glove made of kidskin leather" is from 1680s; sense of "characterized by wearing kid gloves," therefore "dainty, delicate" is from 1856.

"tease playfully," 1839, earlier, in thieves' cant, "to coax, wheedle, hoax" (1811), probably from kid (n.), via notion of "treat as a child, make a kid of." Related: Kidded; kidding.

Idioms and Phrases with kid

kid

In addition to the idioms beginning with kid

kid around
kid gloves
kid stuff
kid the pants off

also see:

handle with (kid) gloves

Also seekidding.