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• kid
  kid

  noun

  a child or young person.
• Kid
  Kid

  noun

  Thomas. Kyd, Thomas.

kid

¹ American  

[kid] / kɪd /

noun

kids plural

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.

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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 American  

[kid] / kɪd /

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.

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verb (used without object)

kidded, kidding

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

Kid ³ American  

[kid] / kɪd /

noun

1. Thomas. Kyd, Thomas.

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kid ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

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

kid ² British  

/ 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

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Kid ³ British  

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (Thomas) Kyd

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kid ⁴ British  

/ kɪd /

noun

1. a small wooden tub

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kid Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing kid

• handle with (kid) gloves
• kidding

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• kids
  plural

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

“When Bunnie comes into my life, I have to sit Bunnie down and go, ‘Look, I have a kid that you know about that I’m fixing to have to get full custody of.’”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026

If we can become a kid again — our most honest, impressionable, open-hearted self — in that theater seat, we’ll believe anything is possible.

From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026

It took Landon Donovan, the laid-back California kid with the number 10 on his back, to change that.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

To everyone else, the crowd is the point: the immigrant kid, the muddy field, the strangers who become one thing for 90 minutes.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

She just says, “Aunt Jen wants to take family photos and Dad brought his girlfriend’s kid because her babysitter canceled. I figured you’d need at least two of these.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

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