What does "child" mean?
A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
Child
/tʃaɪld/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
- Grammar: child is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: kid, minor, youngster, fry.
- Useful contrasts: adult humans, adult individuals, mature person.
- Usage evidence: A child is not a vessel for filling, but a fire to light.
How to use "child"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "child" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "child" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "child" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "child" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "child" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "kid" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "child", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority). broadly
"Go easy on him: he is but a child."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of child often used when referring to God (Jesus) or another important child who is understood from context. alt-of
"He appeared as an only begotten Child, as a Child calling us to be children also, and yet with this difference, that He and His Father maintained a holy intimacy with each other which no one dared to share."
- 3 a young person of either sex wordnet
- 4 A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).; A youth aged 1 to 9 years, whereas neonates are aged 0 to 1 month, infants are aged 1 to 12 months, and adolescents are aged 10 to 20 years. broadly, sometimes
- 5 a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 One's direct descendant by birth, regardless of age; one's offspring; a son or daughter.
"My youngest child is forty-three this year."
- 7 an immature childish person wordnet
- 8 The thirteenth Lenormand card.
- 9 a member of a clan or tribe wordnet
- 10 A figurative offspring; A person considered a product of a place or culture, a member of a tribe or culture, regardless of age. figuratively
"the children of Israel"
- 11 A figurative offspring; Anything derived from or caused by something. figuratively
"Poverty, disease, and despair are the children of war."
- 12 A figurative offspring; A data item, process, or object which has a subservient or derivative role relative to another. figuratively
"The child node then stores the actual data of the parent node."
- 13 Alternative form of childe (“youth of noble birth”). alt-of, alternative
- 14 A subordinate node of a tree.
- 15 An adult or adolescent with childish or stupid behaviors. figuratively
"My husband is such a child, going out with his sled everytime it snows."
- 16 A female child, a girl. obsolete, specifically
"A boy, or a Childe I wonder?"
Verb
- 1 To give birth; to beget or procreate. ambitransitive, archaic
"My liefe (ſayd ſhe) ye know, that long ygo, Whileſt ye in durance dwelt, ye to me gaue A little mayde, the which ye chylded tho ; The ſame againe if now ye liſt to haue, The ſame is yonder Lady, whom high God did ſaue."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
adult humansadult individualsmature personmature society
Example
"A child is not a vessel for filling, but a fire to light."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "child"?
Common synonyms include: kid, minor, youngster, fry, juvenile, nipper.
How do you use "child" in a sentence?
A child is not a vessel for filling, but a fire to light.
How do you pronounce "child"?
Pronounced /tʃaɪld/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Danish kuld (“brood, litter”), Swedish kull (“brood, litter”), Icelandic kelta, kjalta (“lap”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (kilþei, “womb”), Sanskrit जर्त (jarta), जर्तु (jártu, “vulva”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English childen, from the noun child.