child

noun

ˈchī(-ə)ld How to pronounce child (audio)
Definition of childnext
1
as in kid
a young person who is between infancy and adulthood an imaginative animated film that appeals to adults as well as to children

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in baby
a recently born person wrapped the child in a blanket before taking him outside in the cold

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in outcome
a condition or occurrence traceable to a cause widespread stress is the child of the frenetic pace of the modern world

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of child The minutes had passed so quickly for the rest of the world, but for the families waiting to learn whether their children were alive, the abrupt end of the gunfire wasn’t the end of their agony. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 Prior to her arrival, the film is confined largely to the claustrophobic rented California beach bungalow where Fielder and the documentary team spend time with Holmes, her husband, and their children. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026 In the classroom next to the broken door there were teachers and four children. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 The conversation also included fellow cast members Dean Butler, Pamela Roylance and Jennifer Donati, as well as Tracy and Victor French, the children of late cast member Victor French. — Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for child
Recent Examples of Synonyms for child
  1. kid
  2. baby
  3. outcome
  4. infant
  5. result
  6. toddler
  7. resultant
  8. boy
Noun
  • Everyone thinks their kids’ slang is ridiculous and their parents’ politics naive.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Mitt reminds me of these famous sports dads — Earl Woods, Richard Williams, Marv Marinovich — who put a golf club or tennis racket or football in their kids’ cribs.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of kid
Noun
  • Items for babies and children up to age three face the strictest limits.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Both couples are now balancing the demands of their careers with raising young children — Wheeler and Zhamira have a 2-year-old daughter, Aiunii, while Jara and Uribe welcomed baby Emilia last November.
    — Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of baby
Noun
  • Whatever the outcome, the presidential vote may resolve little.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The timing suggested that the United States was consciously undercutting an ostensible ally, pressuring Zelensky to step aside or risk catastrophic outcomes on the battlefield.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of outcome
Noun
  • Den Haas said the infant was one of two hidden beneath bananas and luggage on a passenger bus in southern Sumatra.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Tools to identify a disrupted maternal and infant gut microbiome are already being developed, but screening without a protocol for what to do next is incomplete medicine.
    — Holly Baines, STAT, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of infant
Noun
  • The story centers on two ex-lovers who come back into each other’s lives after spending decades apart, only to find old feelings stirring with messy and mixed results.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Otherworldly was the result at Mugler, as well, where outer eyelashes got extruded like whiskers.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of result
Noun
  • The prosecutor argued the beatings basically never stopped, claiming footage showed nannies beating one child, then turning their violence toward any of the other toddlers who wept while watching.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The toddler finding marks the third time in 18 months that a different research community reached the same conclusion.
    — Charles Yeomans, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of toddler
Noun
  • Inadequate funding and the resultant low pay for correctional officers, when compared to other law enforcement agencies, have plagued the bureau for years.
    — Scott Peyton, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Surprisingly, despite his role in the Fast & Furious franchise and the resultant persona fans project on him, Gibson is, admittedly, not interested in pursuing motorsport and had never been drifting.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of resultant
Noun
  • Linda Sanchez is the mother of the first-grade boy who hid under the table with his teacher.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The film ends in 1997 with a young African boy fleeing persecution into the same theater, drawing a parallel between past and present.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of boy

Phrases Containing child

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chignons
child
child's play
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Cite this Entry

“Child.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/child. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on child

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about child

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