child
child
/tʃaɪld/
(plural children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ /ˈtʃɪldrən/) 1 a young human who is not yet an adult
a child of 3/a 3-year-old child
men, women and children
an organization that campaigns for the rights of the unborn child
The film is not suitable for young children.
I lived in London as a child.
She was a child star but never made it as an adult.
Collocations
adjective
verb + child
child + verb
child + noun
preposition
with child
2 a son or daughter of any age
They have three grown-up children.
a support group for adult children of alcoholics
They can't have children.
SEE ALSO godchild, grandchild, love child, only child, stepchild
COMPARE kid
3 a person who is strongly influenced by the ideas and attitudes of a particular time or person
a child of the 90s
4 (disapproving) an adult who behaves like a child and is not mature or responsible
Idioms
Word 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.