Meanings
nounlatchkey kid (plural latchkey kids)
plural latchkey kids
- informalA schoolchild who carries keys to their residence because there is usually no parent home when school finishes.
Forget about the American latchkey kids of my generation.
2025 December 11, Colette Davidson, “Letter from Paris: France weighs an end to its four-day school week”, in The Christian Science MonitorSynonyms: latchkey child
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA schoolchild who carries keys to their residence because there is usually no parent home when school finishes.
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Translations
Chinese Mandarin 掛鑰匙兒童 /挂钥匙儿童, 鑰匙兒童 /钥匙儿童
- 掛鑰匙兒童 /挂钥匙儿童 (guàyàoshi értóng)schoolchild
- 鑰匙兒童 /钥匙儿童 (yàoshi értóng)schoolchild
Danish nøglebarn
- nøglebarnschoolchild
Dutch sleutelkind
- sleutelkindschoolchild
Finnish avainkaulalapsi, avainlapsi
- avainkaulalapsischoolchild
- avainlapsischoolchild
French enfant à clé
- enfant à cléschoolchild
German Schlüsselkind
- Schlüsselkindschoolchild
Hungarian kulcsos gyerek
- kulcsos gyerekschoolchild
Icelandic lyklabarn
- lyklabarnschoolchild
Japanese 鍵っ子
- 鍵っ子 (kagikko)schoolchild
Norwegian nøkkelbarn
- nøkkelbarnschoolchild
Spanish niño con llave
- niño con llaveschoolchild
Swedish nyckelbarn
- nyckelbarnschoolchild
Cite this entry
APA
latchkey kid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latchkey%20kid
MLA
“latchkey kid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latchkey%20kid. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “latchkey kid,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latchkey%20kid.
Source: latchkey kid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.