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child

Pronunciation: /tʃʌɪld/

Translate child | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of child

noun (plural children /ˈtʃɪldr(ə)n/)

  • a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority: she’d been playing tennis since she was a child the film is not suitable for children
  • a son or daughter of any age: when children leave home, parents can feel somewhat redundant
  • an immature or irresponsible person: she’s such a child!
  • a person who has little or no experience in a particular area:he’s a child in financial matters
  • (children) archaic the descendants of a family or people:the children of Abraham
  • (child of) a person regarded as the product of (a specified influence or environment):a child of the Sixties

Phrases

child's play

a task which is easily accomplished: tapping telephones is child’s play

from a child

since childhood:from a child she had taken ballet lessons

with child

archaic pregnant.

Derivatives

childless

adjective

childlessness

noun

Origin:

Old English cild, of Germanic origin. The Middle English plural childer or childre became childeren or children by association with plurals ending in -en, such as brethren

child in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of child in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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