parenthood

American  

[pair-uhnt-hood, par-] / ˈpɛər əntˌhʊd, ˈpær- /

noun

1. the state, position, or relation of a parent.

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Usage

What does parenthood mean? Parenthood is the state of being a parent. A person enters parenthood when they become a parent. This most commonly happens when their child is born, but it can also happen through adoption or by marrying or becoming a partner to someone with children. The terms motherhood and fatherhood are gender-specific versions of parenthood. The related noun parenting can mean the same thing as parenthood, but it more commonly refers to the process of raising children or the methods and techniques used to do so, as in I didn’t know anything about parenting before I entered parenthood. Example: People who have not experienced parenthood probably shouldn’t be so quick to criticize how other people parent their children.

Other Word Forms

• nonparenthood
  noun

Etymology

Origin of parenthood

First recorded in 1855–60; parent + -hood

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parenthood

Do you hear before parenthood and after parenthood in your music?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Deaths surrounding the transition to parenthood often have more to do with social vulnerability than biology, and many of them can be prevented.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Yet Yu Wenlei, a 21-year-old university student in Nanjing who was volunteering at the Romantic Center on a recent Saturday, said her fellow Gen Zers have reservations about parenthood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Psychologist Charlotte Armitage shares her advice to help parents cope with this new stage of parenthood:

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Barack and I laughed about what parenthood had done to us.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama