childhood
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++child·hood /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/ ●●○ W3 noun [countable, uncountable] CHILDthe period of time when you are a child 童年，儿童时代 I had a very happy childhood. 我的童年很快乐。in/during/since (somebody’s) childhood Most infections occur in childhood. 大多数传染病发生在儿童时期。 She had been writing poems since her childhood. 她童年时代就开始写诗了。childhood home/friend/experience etc (=a home etc that you had when you were a child) 儿时的家/朋友/经历等childhood memories (=the memories you have of your childhood) 童年的记忆 → second childhood RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say when I was a child when talking about their childhood: 在日常英语中，人们说到自己小时候时一般都说when I was a child During my childhood we lived by the ocean. → When I was a child we lived by the ocean. 小时候，我们住在海边。 | She’s known him since childhood. → She’s known him since she was a child. 她从小就认识他。n COLLOCATIONSadjectiveshappy/unhappyHer parents divorced and her childhood was unhappy.normalI think my childhood was fairly normal.lonelyHe had no brothers or sisters and a lonely childhood.a deprived childhood (=without enough money, food, attention etc)Many children living in these areas have very deprived childhoods.early/late childhoodExperiences in early childhood are very important.verbshave a happy/unhappy etc childhoodI wish I'd had a happy childhood like yours.spend your childhoodThis is the house where the artist spent most of his childhood.remember something from (your) childhoodHe remembered the place from his childhood.childhood + NOUNchildhood memoriesThe smell in the air brought back happy childhood memories.a childhood friendHe married his childhood friend.somebody's childhood homeHer childhood home was in North Dakota.a childhood experienceOur childhood experiences make us who we are.a childhood illness/diseasemeasles and other common childhood illnesses
Examples from the Corpus
childhood• His early childhood was spent with his father in Chicago.• Much of my early childhood was spent with my aunt in California.• It all comes from a good childhood.• Nina had happy memories of her childhood on the farm.• The origins of Gironella's peculiar assemblages lie in his childhood.• Steven had happy memories of his childhood on the farm.• It was his childhood dream to play professional baseball.• There were no differences in the rates of complications after delivery or in childhood behavior problems.• Information on childhood history, family, peer and work experiences was obtained, as well as detailed information on current circumstances.• They've been buddies since childhood.• He says Ryan has been a tinkerer since childhood, endlessly curious about the way things work.• Since childhood Margot had longed to be a dancer.• The adults had retreated from this childhood world, but not very far.• Vince had a very unhappy childhood.• Of course, I had all the usual childhood illnesses, like measles and mumps.in/during/since (somebody’s) childhood• I started therapy because of a lot of unresolved conflicts in my childhood.• There is a great deal of evidence which indicates that experiences in early childhood are very important, and that the effects are long-lasting.• This is one reason why hearing impairment in childhood is totally different from hearing loss in adult life.• His primary avocation was palaeontology, an interest he had lovingly nurtured since childhood.• Conventionally, maps and graphic aids are introduced into mobility work only in middle childhood, if at all.• He says Ryan has been a tinkerer since childhood, endlessly curious about the way things work.• Maybe Liam reminds him of something unhappy in his own childhood.child·hood noun →REGISTER1 →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
are time a of when period you child the Corpus
childhood
child‧hood W3 /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/
noun [uncountable and countable]
the period of time when you are a child:
I had a very happy childhood.
in/during/since (sb’s) childhood
Most infections occur in childhood.
She had been writing poems since her childhood.
childhood home/friend/experience etc (=a home etc that you had when you were a child)
childhood memories (=the memories you have of your childhood) ⇨ second childhood
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say when I was a child when talking about their childhood:
▪ During my childhood we lived by the ocean. ➔ When I was a child we lived by the ocean.
▪ | She’s known him since childhood. ➔ She’s known him since she was a child.
■ adjectives
▪happy/unhappy Her parents divorced and her childhood was unhappy.
▪normal I think my childhood was fairly normal.
▪lonely He had no brothers or sisters and a lonely childhood.
▪a deprived childhood (=without enough money, food, attention etc) Many children living in these areas have very deprived childhoods.
▪early/late childhood Experiences in early childhood are very important.
■ verbs
▪have a happy/unhappy etc childhood I wish I'd had a happy childhood like yours.
▪spend your childhood This is the house where the artist spent most of his childhood.
▪remember something from (your) childhood He remembered the place from his childhood.
■ childhood + NOUN
▪childhood memories The smell in the air brought back happy childhood memories.
▪a childhood friend He married his childhood friend.
▪somebody's childhood home Her childhood home was in North Dakota.
▪a childhood experience Our childhood experiences make us who we are.
▪a childhood illness/disease measles and other common childhood illnesses
■ when you are young
▪childhood the time when you are a child, especially a young child: I had a wonderful childhood in the country. | childhood illnesses
▪girlhood/boyhood the time when you are a young girl or boy: The two men had been friends in boyhood. | the transition from girlhood to womanhood
▪youth the time when you are young, especially between about 15 and 25 when you are no longer a child: He was a great sportsman in his youth. | She revisited all the places where she had spent her youth.
▪adolescence the time when you are changing from being a child into an adult – used especially when you are talking about the problems people have at this age: During adolescence, boys are often lacking in self-confidence.
▪infancy formal the time when you are a baby: In the past, many more babies died in infancy.
child‧hood W3 /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/
noun [uncountable and countable]the period of time when you are a child:
in/during/since (sb’s) childhood
childhood home/friend/experience etc (=a home etc that you had when you were a child)
childhood memories (=the memories you have of your childhood) ⇨ second childhood
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say when I was a child when talking about their childhood:
▪ During my childhood we lived by the ocean. ➔ When I was a child we lived by the ocean.
▪ | She’s known him since childhood. ➔ She’s known him since she was a child.
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Childhood/youth 童年／青年时期
be born and raised/bred in Oxford;be born into a wealthy/middle-class family在牛津出生并长大；在富裕／中产家庭出生 have a happy/an unhappy/a tough childhood有幸福／不幸／艰苦的童年 grow up in a musical family/in an orphanage/on a farm成长于音乐之家／孤儿院／农场 be/grow up an only child (= with no brothers or sisters)是独生子 reach/hit/enter/go through adolescence/puberty进入／经历青春期 be in your teens/early twenties/mid-twenties/late twenties十几岁；二十出头；二十五岁左右；将近三十岁 undergo/experience physical/psychological changes经历生理／心理变化 give in to/succumb to/resist peer pressure屈服于／顶住同辈的压力 assert your independence/individuality维护独立／个性
Adulthood 成年
leave school/university/home中学／大学毕业；离家 go out to work (at sixteen)（16 岁）投身工作 get/find a job/partner找到工作／伴侣 be/get engaged/married订婚；结婚 have/get a wife/husband/mortgage/steady job有妻子／丈夫／按揭贷款／稳定的工作 settle down and have kids/children/a family安定下来并生儿育女 begin/start/launch/build a career (in politics/science/the music industry)开始（政治／科学／音乐）职业生涯 prove (to be)/represent/mark/reach a turning point in your life/career最终成为／代表／标志／达到某人人生／某人职业生涯的转折点 reach/be well into/settle into middle age进入／安度中年 have/suffer/go through a midlife crisis经历中年危机 take/consider early retirement提前退休；考虑提前退休 approach/announce/enjoy your retirement临近／宣布／享受退休
Old age 老年
have/see/spend time with your grandchildren有孙辈；与孙辈共度时光 take up/pursue/develop a hobby开始／追求／培养一种爱好 get/receive/draw/collect/live on a pension得到／提取／领取退休金；靠退休金生活 approach/save for/die from old age临近晚年；存钱养老；老死 live to a ripe old age高寿 reach the grand old age of 102/23( often
活到 102／23 岁高龄（常作反语） be/become/be getting/be going senile( often
变得衰老（常作反语） die (peacefully)/pass away in your sleep/after a brief illness在睡梦中／患病不久（平静地）离开人世
