noun
kid
KIHD
noun
1
A child or young person; informally, anyone's son or daughter regardless of their age.
"The kids were playing in the backyard all afternoon."
"She's my kid, even though she's thirty now."
2
A young goat.
"The farmer bottle-fed the newborn kid."
verb
1
To tease or joke with someone, often in a playful, harmless way.
"Don't take it seriously, I was only kidding."
"He kidded her about her terrible singing."
How to Use Kid
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA young child, a baby goat, or (as a verb) to tease someone in fun.
Common mistake
As a verb, "kidding" means joking, not lying maliciously — it implies no real harm intended.
Common pairings
just kidding
kid around
my kids
Word Forms
kidded past tense, kids plural, kids plural, kids plural, kids singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “kid”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The _____ were playing in the backyard all afternoon.
Etymology
From Old Norse "kið" (young goat), which entered English through Middle English. The word was first used as slang for "child" around the 1590s and became standard informal English by the 1840s.