stepchild

[ step-chahyld ]

/ ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld /

Save This Word!

noun, plural step·child·ren.

a child of one's spouse by a previous marriage.

any person, organization, affiliate, project, etc., that is not properly treated, supported, or appreciated: This agency is the stepchild when appropriations are handed out.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of stepchild

before 1000; Middle English; Old English stēopcild.See step-, child

Words nearby stepchild

step aside, stepbrother, step by step, stepchair, step change, stepchild, step cut, stepdame, stepdance, stepdaughter, step-down

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stepchild in a sentence

However, it’s not always the case, and many stepchildren have strong relationships with their stepparents.
Stepmom Takes Recently-Out Trans Stepson To Get Buzz Haircut Against Dad’s Wishes|D. N.|March 7, 2022|No Straight News
As the adult — and, in the eyes of many stepchildren, the parent-come-lately — you should contact him.
Miss Manners: She’s ‘best’ at giving gifts but stinks at receiving them|Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
They treat the dogs like the lefthanded stepchild and put them in a the back room and left them there.
Arizona Opens Investigation Into Deadly Doggie Disneyland|Caitlin Dickson|June 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Klout is more or less the forgotten stepchild of the social media bunch, but it was a start.
After Four Lonely Years, It’s Time to Give Bing a Chance|Anna Brand|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Being a stepchild, she noted, set her as an outsider within a family, and gave her a yearning to conform.
The Book on Aging Rockers|Jane Ciabattari|June 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Well, all the time you and me was in Marcellus's settin'-room that stepchild of his just set and looked at my head.
Mary-'Gusta|Joseph C. Lincoln
Grandson of his State, and stepchild to Elmville—thus had fate fixed his kinship to the body politic.
Roads of Destiny|O. Henry
So, for the first time in their lives, met the child and the stepchild of Louise Duval.
The Parisians, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
But the mother and the stepchild (now restored to the sick-room) did not desert their watch.
Ernest Maltravers, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
She not only despised but hated her stepchild from the moment that she saw her.
Warriors of Old Japan and Other Stories|Yei Theodora Ozaki

British Dictionary definitions for stepchild

stepchild

/ (ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld) /

noun plural -children

a stepson or stepdaughter

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