childcare

noun

child·​care ˈchī(-ə)ld-ˌker How to pronounce childcare (audio)
variants or child care
: the care of children especially as a service while parents are working
Erratic week-to-week work schedules make it nearly impossible to manage a personal budget or secure childcare.—David Dayen

Examples of childcare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Constant said failure to appear charges, often due to the bus being late, a lack of childcare or permission to take the day off from work, are driving Connecticut’s pretrial population. — Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026 Starting next month, Mayor Mamdani said the city will cover all out-of-pocket costs — and childcare will become free for those participants, too. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 Between childcare, a car payment and our actual mortgage, our two-income household was suddenly struggling to make it to payday. — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 Hong branded herself as a fighter for the working class, advocated for universal childcare and called to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. — Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for childcare

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of childcare was in 1896

Rhymes for childcare

See All Rhymes for childcare

Browse Nearby Words

childbirth
childcare
child-centered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Childcare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/childcare. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All