Meaning & use
children
Last updated
“children” is a form of “child”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Young people who are not yet adults, from babies up to the early teens.
Grammar: Plural of child and takes a plural verb: the children are playing, not the children is.
Patterns
- children under twelve
- children's something
The children played in the garden until it got dark.
Tickets are free for children under five.
Several children waited at the bus stop with their parents.
nounplural
A person's sons and daughters, of any age.
Grammar: Refers to family relationship rather than age: her grown children live abroad.
Patterns
- someone's children
- have children
Their children are all adults now and live in different cities.
She raised three children on her own.
He left the house to his children.
nounpluralliteraryfigurative
The members of a group, place or movement, thought of as its descendants or followers.
Grammar: Often figurative and followed by of: children of the revolution.
Patterns
- children of something
The villagers were proud to call themselves children of the sea.
The immigrants' children became the nation's first doctors.
Writers are often children of their own time.
Word forms
| singular | child |
|---|---|
| possessive plural | children's |
Common combinations
- raise children
- They moved to the countryside to raise their children.
- young children
- Young children need plenty of sleep.
- children's book
- She writes and illustrates children's books.
- children's hospital
- The children's hospital opened a new wing.
- have children
- They hope to have children one day.
- children of divorce
- Counselors help children of divorce talk about their feelings.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kids
- Kids is the informal, everyday word and sounds less formal than children in reports or announcements.
- youngsters
- Youngsters usually suggests older children or teenagers and is a little old-fashioned.
- offspring
- Offspring is formal or scientific and works for animals and plants too, while children is only for people.
- minors
- Minors is a legal word for anyone below the age of adulthood and carries no warmth.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: children or childs? children or childrens?
children vs childs
Childs is not a word. The plural of child is irregular, and it is children.
children vs childrens
Children already ends the plural, so the possessive is children's with an apostrophe, never childrens.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Children is the irregular plural of child and takes a plural verb, are. Childs and childrens are not words, and is does not agree with a plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “children”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.