Latchkey Child Definition & Meaning

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.

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

After-school junk food is another fundamental right of the 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

One theory has it the term "latchkey child" was actually coined the year Sandra started school - in an American TV documentary about the increase in children being left at home, alone.

From BBC

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.