Meanings
nountoddler (plural toddlers)
plural toddlers
- 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!
1 more example
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 - broadlyfigurativelyOne 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 - broadlycolloquialrareAny young child (typically before preadolescence) who is capable of walking.
Toddlers & Tiaras
A children's beauty pageant reality show (most participants were over 3 years old)
1 more example
He gave up, said the sixes were being too rowdy... Can't believe he's scared of literal toddlers!
Synonyms & antonyms
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishtotter?
- Englishtoddle
- Englishtoddler
From toddle (“to walk unsteadily”) + -er – literally “one who walks unsteadily”, hence a young child.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic طِفْل دَارِج
- طِفْل دَارِج (ṭifl dārij)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Bulgarian прохождащо дете
- прохождащо дете (prohoždašto dete)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Catalan nen
- nenyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Chinese Mandarin 幼兒 /幼儿, 小孩
- 幼兒 /幼儿 (yòu'ér)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- 小孩 (xiǎohái)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- 小孩子 (xiǎoháizi)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- 小孩兒 /小孩儿 (xiǎoháir)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- 学步期儿童young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Czech batole
- batoleyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Danish småbarn
- småbarnyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Dutch peuter
- peuteryoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Esperanto etulo
- etuloyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Finnish taapero
- taaperoyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
French bambin, bambine
- bambinyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- bambineyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- bébéyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
German Kleinkind, Hosenmatz
- Kleinkindyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- Hosenmatzyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- Knirpsyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- Dreikäsehochyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Greek νήπιο
- νήπιο (nípio)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Hebrew פעוט, זאטוט
- פעוטyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- זאטוטyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Hungarian tipegő
- tipegőyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Icelandic smábarn
- smábarnyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Indonesian (anak) balita
- (anak) balitayoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Irish imeachtaí linbh, lapadán
- imeachtaí linbhyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- lapadányoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Italian bambino, bambina
- bambinoyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- bambinayoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- piccoloyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- piccolayoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- trotterellinoyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- trottolinoyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Japanese 幼児, 子供
- 幼児 (yōji)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- 子供 (kodomo)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Korean 유아
- 유아 (yua)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Māori kōhungahunga, pangore
- kōhungahungayoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- pangoreyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Norwegian tulle
- tulleyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Norwegian Bokmål småbarn
- småbarnyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Persian نوپا
- نوپا (novpâ)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Polish maluch, maluszek
- maluchyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- maluszekyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Portuguese criancinha, bebê
- criancinhayoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- bebêyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Romanian copil mic
- copil micyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Russian ребёнок, карапу́з
- ребёнок (rebjónok)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- карапу́з (karapúz)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- то́ддлер (tóddler)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- малы́ш (malýš)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- малы́шка (malýška)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Spanish niñito, nené
- niñitoyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- nenéyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- neneyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- infanteyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- chiquilínyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- chipilínyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- chiwchiyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- párvuloyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- rorroyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Swedish småbarn
- småbarnyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Ukrainian малю́к
- малю́к (maljúk)young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Welsh plentyn bach, siwlyn
- plentyn bachyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- siwlynyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
- siwliyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Zulu ingane
- inganeyoung child who has started walking but not fully mastered it
Cite this entry
APA
toddler. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toddler
MLA
“toddler.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toddler. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toddler,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toddler.
Source: toddler on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.