parenthood
Americannoun
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
Etymology
Origin of parenthood
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.
Stepping back from a lucrative and rewarding career can be difficult to recover from financially, and parenthood further complicates that choice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
But I always thought of it as kind of a portrait of parenthood, bumbling through parenting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Economic hardship, however, is not the only factor as the mental and physical demands of parenthood also weigh on many.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Older parenthood is on the rise — but it comes with a tough new set of financial rules.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Their hearts were wrung with anguish, the anguish of having children, a vulnerability as astonishing as the capacity for love that parenthood brings, in a cuff link set all its own .
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
