toddler
nounUS /ˈtɑdlɚ/ · UK /ˈtɒdlə/
Etymology From toddle (“to walk unsteadily”) + -er – literally “one who walks unsteadily”, hence a young child.
1
A young child (typically between one and three years old) who has started walking but not fully mastered it.
- I can't believe Vanessa's baby is now a toddler already!
- One inexpensive possibility is to purchase a toddler seat that can be placed on your current carriage. There are seats especially designed for that purpose, with seat belts and all. Some toddlers enjoy their high perch, but safety is a concern with these seats.1981 October 21, Joan Weiss, Your Second Child, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 250:
2
Broadly, Figuratively One unsteady on their feet.
- He is sixty-five years old if he is a fortnight, while the girl has only just done with her dolls,and hos no more love for the toothless old toddler than I have for Mammy Wombat, the black gin.1868, John Richard Houlding, Australian Tales: And Sketches from Real Life, S. Low, Son, and Marston, page 65:
3
Broadly, Colloquial, Rare Any young child (typically before preadolescence) who is capable of walking.
- Toddlers & Tiaras
- He gave up, said the sixes were being too rowdy... Can't believe he's scared of literal toddlers!
- Synonyms
- ankle-biter, crumb crusher, crumb snatcher, leg biter, preschooler, rugrat, sproglet, squirt, toddler, tot, tyke
- Derived terms
- pretoddler, toddlekins, toddlercon, toddlerdom, toddlerhood, toddlerish, toddlerlike, toddler seat, toddlership, toddlerspace, toddlerswear, toddlerwear, turdler
- Hypernyms
- child