stepchild

[ step-chahyld ]

/ ˈstɛpˌtʃaɪld /

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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.

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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

How to use stepchild in a sentence

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