: to bring forth young—used of a goat or an antelope
Did you know?
Is the word kid slang?
Some people worry that kid, when used of a child rather than a juvenile goat, is either slang or too colloquial to merit acceptance in standard English.
The fact is that we have been using kid to refer to a child that is human, rather than goatish, for more than three hundred years now. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that although this word was considered “low slang” when it first began being used, it had entered “familiar speech” by the 19th century.
In contemporary English, kid is neither slang nor improper. It is, however, most definitely informal, so those writing professionally or in a formal register might prefer to use child.
Noun She has to leave early and pick up her kids at school. He has a wife and two kids. I wish I could do something to help that poor kid.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That stubbornness as a kid… couldn’t accept somebody talking to me like that. Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 15 Sep. 2022 Growing up as a kid, reading Spider-Man comics, and then just finding myself in this world and finding a character called Wong. Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sep. 2022 The ritual of moisturizing your skin is one that is passed down generation to generation among Black women – who doesn’t remember their mom lotioning them up as a kid?Essence, 13 Sep. 2022 Sometimes Adebimpe sounds like a stoned drill sergeant, and at other times like a kid on the brink of adolescence. Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 As a kid, Tiafoe remembers wearing shoes with holes in them and hand-me-down T-shirts on the court. Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2022 But, even as a kid, Charlie was determined to prove the doctors wrong. Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 Like many Charger desirers of a certain age, Gilles got the bug for a Coke-bottle Dodge as a kid, watching The Dukes of Hazzard. Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 5 Sep. 2022 Summertime as a kid in the late ’60s was carefree and hot in our small town located in the Central Valley. Melissa Gomezstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022
Adjective
Tom gracefully stepped aside and granted his brother lead status on both vocals and guitar, settling with considerable equanimity for a secondary role as an exemplary rhythm guitarist in what was now his kid brother’s band. Elizabeth Nelson, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022 Zigazoo, a kid-safe social network that recently launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, has raised $17 million in a Series A funding round led by Liberty City Ventures.Fortune, 28 June 2022 The Canadian private equity firm’s interest in Kidoodle is validating for the entrepreneurs who pursued their vision for a kid-safe streaming platform long before the streaming wars erupted. William Earl, Variety, 21 June 2022 Paramount’s over/under $70 million adult-skewing (but kid-safe) studio programmer for a $30.5 million Fri-Sun debut. Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2022 Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and several kid actors stare at something offscreen with a look of wonder and awe. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2022 Meanwhile, Joe Judge, the other member of the Belichick’s brain trust, has looked like Patricia’s kid brother. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2022 Whose happiness is prioritized in a family? — capture both kid-brain literalism and the bigger, harder questions of growing up. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 28 July 2022 The controversy of Wren Eleanor has led to a cavalcade of outraged moms removing videos featuring their own kids on social media, as well as legitimate questions as to whether there should be regulations in place to protect kid influencers. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2022
Verb
Don’t kid yourself into thinking the only environmental issue is everything wonderful in Glen Canyon popping up again.AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2022 And don’t kid yourself that the local employees won’t notice or care about that disparity. Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2022 Don’t kid yourself, Utah can lose to Florida on Sept. 3. Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Aug. 2022 The best change management plans are amenable to change, but don’t kid yourself into thinking that the need for alteration will always be prompted by something pleasant. Patrick Johnson, Forbes, 6 July 2022 Another great option for little ones, CodeMonkey is an online community that helps kid with no prior experience learn how to code. Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 Elon Musk may like to kid around on Twitter , but his impending ownership of the platform is no joke, to him or anyone else. Laura Forman, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2022 Sevigny is excellent, worn in different ways before and after her son’s death, handling him with care but not kid gloves in life, more sorrowful than vengeful afterward. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2022 It’s not the end of the world, but no one should kid themselves into believing that Biden didn’t make a mistake. Michael A. Cohen, The New Republic, 28 Mar. 2022
Verb
Don’t kid yourself into thinking the only environmental issue is everything wonderful in Glen Canyon popping up again.AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2022 And don’t kid yourself that the local employees won’t notice or care about that disparity. Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2022 Don’t kid yourself, Utah can lose to Florida on Sept. 3. Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Aug. 2022 The best change management plans are amenable to change, but don’t kid yourself into thinking that the need for alteration will always be prompted by something pleasant. Patrick Johnson, Forbes, 6 July 2022 Another great option for little ones, CodeMonkey is an online community that helps kid with no prior experience learn how to code. Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022 Elon Musk may like to kid around on Twitter , but his impending ownership of the platform is no joke, to him or anyone else. Laura Forman, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2022 Sevigny is excellent, worn in different ways before and after her son’s death, handling him with care but not kid gloves in life, more sorrowful than vengeful afterward. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2022 It’s not the end of the world, but no one should kid themselves into believing that Biden didn’t make a mistake. Michael A. Cohen, The New Republic, 28 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun, Adjective, and Verb (2)
Middle English kide, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse kith kid