/ tʃaɪld; NAmE / noun ( pl. chil·dren / ˈtʃɪldrən; NAmE /)
1.
a young human who is not yet an adult :
a child of three / a three-year-old child
men, women and children
an unborn child
not suitable for young children
I lived in London as a child.
a child star
—see also brainchild , latchkey child , poster child , schoolchild
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
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IDIOMS
- be with child
- be child's play
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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 .