kid
noun
a child or young person.
Jump To:
Trivia Time
Which actor portrayed the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?
kid
1 American
[kid]
/ kɪd /
noun
-
kids
plural
-
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)
kidded,
kidding
kid
2
American
[kid]
/ kɪd /
Kid
3
American
[kid]
/ kɪd /
noun
kid
1
British
/ kɪd /
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 child
kid brother
kid sister
-
-
dialect my younger brother or sister
verb
kid
2
British
/ kɪd /
verb
-
(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
Kid
3
British
/ kɪd /
noun
kid
4
British
/ kɪd /
noun
kid
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
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
Explanation
If a farmer offers to introduce you to her kid, you might not know if she means her child or her baby goat. A kid is a child, informally, and it's also a young goat. Sometimes the word kid means a kind of soft leather made from goat skin. When kid is used as a verb, it means to tease or jokingly deceive someone — to kid them. Some sticklers for formality object to using kid to mean "child," but that meaning has been around since the 1590s. The "teasing" definition of kid comes from the sense of "treat like a child."
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:
“Having a kid is daunting in about a hundred different ways, period — but it’s just getting more and more challenging financially,” Matt Schultz, chief consumer-finance analyst at LendingTree, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Then, I walked down the street a little further and another kid came running up to me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“There’s no way this kid is going to be any good,” Bley thought to himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
But even as a kid, I suspected on some level that this tape wasn’t really for me specifically.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
When Pearl came back, she had a grip on the little kid who didn’t want to be anywhere near here.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
In other words, a yes-man—especially when told not to investigate helicopter stunts at Kid Rock’s house.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026
What’s paying full price for an Ugly Kid Joe CD you never wanted compared to all that?
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Burwell said he’s flattered by recent online praise from the likes of Ethel Cain, Flying Lotus and Kid Cudi for his score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The single "Real Gone Kid" became their first top 10 single in the UK Singles Chart while Dignity is one of their most popular songs.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
My lungs were bursting with clean air and my heart was pounding, still I had the nerve to call out a challenge to the Kid.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
It explained what clothing the kids needed to wear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
In a 2024 interview with People, Reynolds shared that his kids had grown fond of Kelly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
A jury found the company had failed to warn the public about the dangers its platforms posed to kids.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
We now have one shelf of albums featuring the best photos and are eager to take these to our new home and show our kids and grandkids.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
“You kids make sure to say a proper goodbye to your grandmother. She’s going back home—later today, right?”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
This claim of passivity kidded nobody except maybe himself.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2025
On a flight to Chicago, Devers kidded Bello he would hit two homers on Friday.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 15, 2023
In flight, Sadat kidded her about her salary; his was only $12,000.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022
Taylor Shiffrin kidded his sister about being up so early before her first race at these Winter Olympics, defending the gold medal she won in the giant slalom four years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
He sometimes kidded me about being so short, but I always had an easy answer: “Bigger guys make bigger targets.”
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
The man wasn’t kidding when he told us he’d figured something out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
In 2018, Stephen Curry said he didn’t think humans had ever been there, although two days later the Golden State Warriors superstar said that he was kidding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
You’re not kidding when you say there’s a lot to think about!
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
I’m kidding: Even under normal circumstances, giving private companies this much power is likely to incentivize inventing enemies to fight or drive unnecessary spending.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Are you kidding? No way. And Boomer will keep us safe, won’t you, boy?”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
