child
[noun]
Synonyms: youngster, babe, baby, bairn (Scot.), infant, juvenile, kid (informal), offspring, toddler, tot

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Antonyms: adult, grown-up
Related Idioms: a slip of a boy (or girl), small fry, young hopeful
Related Words: minor, adolescent, teenager, teener, teenybopper, brat, bratling, dickens, runabout, cherub, innocent, lamb, sweetling

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English Thesaurus: child, kid, little boy/little girl, teenager, adolescent, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Child, Ju‧li‧a /ˈdʒuːliə/
(1912–2004) a US chef (=professional cook) who taught cooking through her popular television programmes and books. Her most famous book was Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). Her high voice was easily recognized by many Americans.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

child S1 W1 /tʃaɪld/ noun (plural children /ˈtʃɪldrən/) [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: cild]

1. YOUNG PERSON someone who is not yet an adult Synonym : kid:
The hotel is ideal for families with young children.
The film is not suitable for children under 12.
I was very happy as a child (=when I was a child).
a child of five/eight etc
For a child of five this was a terrifying experience.
a famous writer of children’s books
child victims of war

2. SON/DAUGHTER a son or daughter of any age:
I have five children, all happily married.
She lives with her husband, Paul, and three grown-up children.
Annie had always wanted to get married and have children.
Alex is an only child (=he has no brothers or sisters).
Our youngest child, Sam, has just started university.
eldest child especially BrE, oldest child especially American English
the decision to bring a child into the world (=have a baby)

3. SOMEBODY INFLUENCED BY AN IDEA someone who is very strongly influenced by the ideas and attitudes of a particular period of history
child of
a real child of the sixties

4. SOMEBODY WHO IS LIKE A CHILD someone who behaves like a child and is not sensible or responsible – used to show disapproval:
She’s such a child!

5. something is child’s play used to say that something is very easy to do:
I’ve cooked for 200 people before now. So, tonight is child’s play by comparison.

6. children should be seen and not heard an expression meaning that children should be quiet and not talk – used when you disapprove of the way a child is behaving

7. be with child old use to be pregnant

8. be heavy/great with child old use to be nearly ready to give birth

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

child
noun
ADJ. little, small, young My father died while I was still a small child.
teenage We've got three teenage children.
good, obedient, well-behaved | delinquent, difficult, disobedient, fractious, mischievous, naughty, problem, sulky, unruly, wayward, wilful She works in a centre for delinquent children. He's always been a problem child. The children were quite unruly and ran around the house as if they owned it.
bright, gifted, intelligent, precocious a school for gifted children What a precocious child?reading Jane Austen at the age of ten!
dull, slow Teaching is particularly difficult when a class contains both slow and bright children.
well-cared for | abandoned, abused, neglected therapy for sexually abused children
sickly | loving | only It was a bit lonely being an only child.
fatherless, motherless | illegitimate | unborn an organization that campaigns for the rights of the unborn child
dependent tax concessions for families with dependent children
street There are a lot of street children in the poorer parts of the city.
VERB + CHILD have How many children have you got?
give birth to, have She didn't have her first child until she was nearly forty.
conceive We had trouble conceiving our first child.
expect They are expecting a child in June.
adopt | bring up, raise, rear He had old-fashioned ideas on how to bring up children.
indulge, pamper, spoil You can't spoil a child by giving it all the affection it wants.
abduct | abandon
CHILD + VERB be born Their first child was born with a rare heart condition.
develop, grow (up) Children grow up so quickly! good food for growing children
cry, scream, whimper, whine | misbehave
CHILD + NOUN actor, bride | welfare
PREP. with ~ (literary) big with child (= pregnant)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

child

a four-year-old/ten-year-old etc child
A four-year-old child should not be left on their own.
a young child
Young children are naturally curious about the world.
a small child (=a young one)
My family lived in France when I was a small child.
a newborn child
He was holding the newborn child in his arms.
an unborn child (=a baby that is still inside its mother)
Smoking can damage your unborn child.
a spoilt/spoiled child (=allowed to do or have whatever he or she wants, and behaving badly)
He’s behaving like a spoilt child.
a gifted child (=extremely intelligent)
a special school for gifted children
a bright child (=intelligent)
He was a bright child – always asking questions.
a good/bad child
Be a good child and sit down!
a naughty child (=doing things that are not allowed)
He's behaving like a naughty child.
an easy/difficult child (=easy or difficult to deal with)
Marcus was a very happy, easy child.
a problem child (=very difficult to deal with)
Problem children may need to be removed from the classroom.
an adopted child (=legally made part of a family that he or she was not born into)
I didn’t find out that I was an adopted child until years later.
street children (=living on the streets because they have no homes)
The organization aims to help street children in Latin America.
bring up a child especially British English, raise a child especially American English
The cost of bringing up a child has risen rapidly.
a child is born
Most children at born in hospital.
a child grows up
One in four children is growing up in poverty.
child abuse (=treating children in a very bad way, especially sexually)
He was arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
child development
She’s an expert in child development.
child labour British English, child labor American English (=the use of children as workers)
The garments were made using child labour.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

child someone who is not yet an adult. You don’t usually use child to talk about babies or teenagers:
Many children are scared of the dark.
He’s just a child.
kid informal a child. Kid is the usual word to use in everyday spoken English:
We left the kids in the car.
little boy/little girl a young male or female child:
I lived there when I was a little girl.
Little boys love dinosaurs.
teenager someone between the ages of 13 and 19:
There’s not much for teenagers to do around here.
adolescent a young person who is developing into an adult – used especially when talking about the problems these people have:
He changed from a cheerful child to a confused adolescent.
youth especially disapproving a teenage boy – especially one who is violent and commits crimes:
He was attacked by a gang of youths.
a youth court
youngster a child or young person – used especially by old people:
You youngsters have got your whole life ahead of you.
He’s a bright youngster with a good sense of humour.
minor law someone who is not yet legally an adult:
It is illegal to sell alcohol to a minor.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

child
tʃaɪld
See: burnt child dreads the fire , with child

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲