Definition of “kid” - English Dictionary

American
Contents

“kid” in English

See all translations

kidnoun

uk ​ /kɪd/ us ​ /kɪd/

kid noun (CHILD)

B1 [ C ] informal a child:

He took the kids to the park while I was working.

› [ C ] informal a young person:

He was only 16, just a kid really.
[ as form of address ] What's up, kid?
sb's kid sister/brother mainly US informal

› someone's younger sister or brother

be like a kid in a candy store US and Australian English

› to be very happy and excited about the things around you, and often react to them in a way that is silly and not controlled:

You should have seen him when they arrived. He was like a kid in a candy store.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

handle/treat sb with kid gloves

kidverb [ I or T ]

uk ​ /kɪd/ us ​ /kɪd/ -dd- informal

› to say something as a joke, often making someone believe something that is not true:

Oh no, I forgot your birthday! Hey, just/only kidding!
You won first prize? You're kidding! (= I'm really surprised.)
I'm just kidding you!
kid yourself

› to believe something that is not true, usually because you want it to be true:

He says there's a good chance she'll come back to him but I think he's kidding himself.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

no kidding
you have (got) to be kidding

Phrasal verb(s)

kid around

(Definition of “kid” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“kid” in American English

See all translations

kidnoun

us ​ /kɪd/

kid noun (CHILD)

› [ C ] a child, or a young adult:

I took the kids to the park.
He’s only 19, just a kid.

› [ C ] A kid brother or kid sister is a younger brother or sister.

kid noun (ANIMAL)

› [ C/U ] a young goat, or very soft leather made from the skin of a young goat

Idiom(s)

you have got to be kidding

kidverb [ I/T ]

us ​ /kɪd/ -dd- infml

kid verb [ I/T ] (JOKE)

› to say something as a joke, often making someone believe something that is not true:

[ I ] You’re kidding around, aren’t you?
[ T ] Casey’s just kidding you.
kid yourself

› If you kid yourself, you believe that something you want to be true is true although it probably is not:

He thinks she’ll come back, but I think he’s kidding himself.

(Definition of “kid” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Blogs about "kid"

April fool – the language of jokes and tricks

by Liz Walter,

Translations of “kid”
 
Need a translator?

Translator tool

Get a quick, free translation!

What is the pronunciation of kid?
Browse