Basic Details
Word: Child
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A young human being who is not yet an adult. It can also mean a son or daughter of any age, as in 'their only child is now a doctor'.
Synonyms: kid, youngster, minor
Antonyms: adult, grown-up
Word origin: From Old English cild.
How to Spell Child
Syllables: child
Tricky part: The i says its long name, as in mild and wild, even though no e follows the d. Students who spell by sound add a vowel or a second l and write chiled or chilld.
Watch out for: chiled, chilld, chyld
Memory tip: Write chill, the word for cold, and turn its last l into a d: chill becomes child.
Idioms and Phrases
- child's play: Something very easy to do. Example: "After weeks of practice, long division was child's play for Meera."
Usage Examples
Example 1: My cousin was the only child in the train compartment, so everyone shared their snacks with him.
Example 2: Every child in the colony gets a turn to light the diyas at Diwali.
Example 3: The film has a U certificate, so a child can watch it with the family.
Fun Fact
India celebrates Children's Day on 14 November, the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first Prime Minister.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. child 2. adolesence 3. guardien 4. juvinile
a) connected with young people, or silly and childish
b) the years between being a child and becoming an adult
c) a person who is legally responsible for looking after someone
d) a young human being who is not yet an adult
Show answer
d) a young human being who is not yet an adult. Adolescence needs sc, juvenile has an e after the v and guardian ends in -ian, so child is the only correct spelling.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
When the festival crowd grew thick near the temple gate, the worried chiled held tightly to her elder brother's hand.
a) chiled
b) brother's
c) festival
d) temple
Show answer
a) chiled. Child has just four sounds, ch-i-l-d, so no vowel comes between the l and the d.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word child as used in the sentence:
As a child, Raman kept a notebook of every bird he saw from his window.
a) minor
b) adult
c) youngster
d) infant
Show answer
b) adult. An adult is fully grown; infant, youngster and minor all describe the young.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is the correct plural of child?
a) children
b) childes
c) childs
d) childrens
Show answer
a) children
2. A childlike sense of wonder suggests someone who ____.
a) is delighted by simple things
b) behaves rudely to elders
c) is easily bored by simple things
d) never asks questions
Show answer
a) is delighted by simple things
