stepparent

[step-pair-uhnt, -par-]

noun

1. a stepfather or stepmother.

Other Word Forms

• stepparenting noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stepparent¹

First recorded in 1885–90; step- + parent

Example Sentences

Putting Vance on the defense over this is smart for many reasons, including the fact that childless people, stepparents, and adoptive parents have a right to vote, whether Vance likes it or not.

Read more on Salon

Administration officials said the action will protect about 500,000 immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, and about 50,000 immigrant youth with a U.S. citizen stepparent.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Amid this bloodshed, however, researchers noticed a more peaceful resolution to familial upheaval: Adoptions of unrelated chicks by stepparents was just as common as infanticide.

Read more on Science Magazine

“I have such an investment in this question, because I too am in a beautiful dynamic,” is how Barrymore awkwardly describes being a stepparent.

Read more on Salon

She added that entering a family as a stepparent means that you’re joining a family that has dynamics already in place.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aunt 
• cousin 
• father 
• folk 
• mother 
• niece 
• sibling 
• uncle