stepchild
Americannoun
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stepchildren
plural
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a child of one's spouse by a previous marriage.
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any person, organization, affiliate, project, etc., that is not properly treated, supported, or appreciated.
This agency is the stepchild when appropriations are handed out.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stepchild
before 1000; Middle English; Old English stēopcild. See step-, child
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.
See Examples For:
An afterthought if not a redheaded stepchild, though expect affronted fellow media outlets to freak out because of what NBC News once was, not what it is.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
One Moneyist Facebook Group member gave the flipside of your dilemma, from the perspective of a stepchild.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2025
The Lakers are not the prima donnas they used to be and the Clippers are not the stepchild they used to be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2025
The new proposals, which follow a review, maintain the stepchild rule, though NHS bosses insist no decisions have been made.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
Virtually the same applies in Egyptology, in which the study of the Ptolemaic “late period” has long been the neglected stepchild of a discipline engrossed by the Rameseses and Thut- moses of high antiquity.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
Your husband sounds like a stand-up guy and, honestly, plenty of people in your position would move on and leave the stepchildren zero in their will.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
I was 39, already twice divorced and desperate to outrun the pain of losing my husband and three stepchildren just five months prior.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Kissinger’s survivors include her stepchildren Elizabeth Vandermark and David Kissinger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Your nephews may not be your children, but technically speaking, neither are your stepchildren.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
And Kingo thus had the exceptional experience of being stepfather to three sets of children, the daughter of his second wife and the children and stepchildren of his first.
From Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark by J. C. (Jens Christian) Aaberg
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