Latchkey Child Definition & Meaning

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  • American
  • British
  • Etymology
  • Examples
    • latchkey child American

    noun

    1. a child who must spend at least part of the day alone and unsupervised, as when the parents are away at work.

    latchkey child British

    noun

    1. a child who has to let himself or herself in at home on returning from school, as his or her parents are out at work

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    Etymology

    Origin of latchkey child

    First recorded in 1940–45; so called because such a child is provided with a key for getting into the home after school

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    A latchkey child from an early age, she played a lot of soccer, read a lot of books, and smoked a lot of pot.

    From New York Times

    As a latchkey child of divorced parents growing up near Syracuse, Muir took comfort from the news “family” that appeared on his television each evening.

    From Washington Times

    As a latchkey child of divorced parents growing up near Syracuse, Muir took comfort from the news "family" that appeared on his television each evening.

    From US News

    He and I are going to help Mom practice every single night, which is why I’m sitting at my desk instead of watching after-school TV, which is a birthright of every latchkey child.

    From Literature

    I noted an available guideline: the National SafeKids Campaign recommends that - and added that I was a latchkey child at 6 or 7, and loved it.

    From New York Times

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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