Library / English Dictionary

KID

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: kidded    , kidding   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Young goat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("kid" is a kind of...):

caprine animal; goat (any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A young person of either sex

Example:

'tiddler' is a British term for youngster

Synonyms:

child; fry; kid; minor; nestling; nipper; shaver; small fry; tiddler; tike; tyke; youngster

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("kid" is a kind of...):

juvenile; juvenile person (a young person, not fully developed)

Meronyms (parts of "kid"):

child's body (the body of a human child)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kid"):

street child; waif (a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned)

urchin (poor and often mischievous city child)

bambino; toddler; tot; yearling (a young child)

sprog (a child)

silly (a word used for misbehaving children)

kindergartener; kindergartner; preschooler (a child who attends a preschool or kindergarten)

poster child (a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters to raise money for charitable purposes)

picaninny; piccaninny; pickaninny ((ethnic slur) offensive term for a Black child)

peanut (a young child who is small for his age)

orphan (a child who has lost both parents)

kiddie; kiddy (informal term for a young child)

imp; monkey; rapscallion; rascal; scalawag; scallywag; scamp (one who is playfully mischievous)

foster-child; foster child; fosterling (a child who is raised by foster parents)

child prodigy; infant prodigy; wonder child (a prodigy whose talents are recognized at an early age)

changeling (a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy)

buster (a robust child)

bairn (a child: son or daughter)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A human offspring (son or daughter) of any age

Example:

they were able to send their kids to college

Synonyms:

child; kid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("kid" is a kind of...):

issue; offspring; progeny (the immediate descendants of a person)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kid"):

army brat (the child of a career officer of the United States Army)

babe; baby; infant (a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk)

female offspring (a child who is female)

male offspring; man-child (a child who is male)

stepchild (a child of your spouse by a former marriage)

Holonyms ("kid" is a member of...):

family; family unit (primary social group; parents and children)

Sense 4

Meaning:

English dramatist (1558-1594)

Synonyms:

Kid; Kyd; Thomas Kid; Thomas Kyd

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

dramatist; playwright (someone who writes plays)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Soft smooth leather from the hide of a young goat

Example:

kid gloves

Synonyms:

kid; kidskin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("kid" is a kind of...):

leather (an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tell false information to for fun

Example:

Are you pulling my leg?

Synonyms:

kid; pull the leg of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "kid" is one way to...):

befool; cod; dupe; fool; gull; put on; put one across; put one over; slang; take in (fool or hoax)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be silly or tease one another

Example:

After we relaxed, we just kidded around

Synonyms:

banter; chaff; jolly; josh; kid

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "kid" is one way to...):

bait; cod; rag; rally; razz; ride; tantalise; tantalize; taunt; tease; twit (harass with persistent criticism or carping)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Credits

 Context examples: 

I tell yeh, Mart, they won't be no kids workin' in my laundry—not on yer life.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

A lamb, I should say, or a kid.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“It’s a kid!” cried several of the fighting-men.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They discovered a set of genes linked to differences in the thickness of the cortex between autistic kids and non-autistic children.

(Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism, University of Cambridge)

Have you not tethered a young kid under a tree, lain above it with your rifle, and waited for the bait to bring up your tiger?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He 'ad white kid gloves on 'is 'ands, and he pointed out the animiles to me and says: 'Keeper, these wolves seem upset at something.'

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Most people who receive orthodontic care are kids, but adults get braces, too.

(Orthodontia, NIH)

When it comes to taking medicines, kids aren't just small adults.

(Medicines and Children, Food and Drug Administration)

Kids need about 60 minutes each day.

(Obesity in Children, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Four of these nine kids had been treated with stimulant drugs typically prescribed for ADHD (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate), which caused some to develop headaches, excessive sweating, and hypertension.

(Rare cancers may masquerade as ADHD in children, NIH)