street child

3 4.4

A child who lives or works on the streets without adult care

noun
/strit tʃaɪld/

: niño de la calle

There are an estimated 400 human rights cases pending in Guatemala for abuses against street children.
most street children
Brazil's street children

I got this little amount of money to pay an organization in Norway that trains you to go and work in Africa with street children.

Examples

Whatever the cause of individual callousness, the plight of street children will not improve until basic social problems are addressed.

Academic text (1995)
The country's much-vaunted move to democratization was especially hard on street children.

Academic text (1997)
Each artist adopted a street child for a week, during which time he provided the student with instruction.

Academic text (1996)
Given the alternatives, some children choose to live in the streets, but in any case, street children confront the same risks.

Academic text (1992)
Estimates of Brazil's population of street children vary from tens of thousands to millions.

Academic text (1997)
Over the year I spent living in Nairobi, my response to 'street children' evolved, as did my rudimentary grasp of Kiswahili.

Academic text (1995)
The local charity provides food and shelter for street children who have no place to go.
Many street children work during the day to survive while they sleep on the sidewalks at night.
In large cities, street children often gather in groups to support each other and share resources.

Synonyms

waif

vsstreet child

10 8.8

A thin homeless child who looks neglected and alone

focuses on children living or working on streets without adult supervision

street urchin

vsstreet child

Archaic

5 7.6

A poor child who spends most of their time on the streets

focuses on a homeless or abandoned child living without adult supervision

Antonyms

sheltered

1 3.2

Protected from wind, rain, or danger by something that covers it

Surface Forms

street child singular

street children plural

Morphology

street + child

The meaning 'a child who lives or works in the streets' is directly derivable from combining 'street' (place/public road/area) with 'child' (a minor); the first noun specifies the location/status of the second. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Street child shows the simple image of a child living on the street, sleeping, working, and growing up outdoors instead of in a home. That's why today 'street child' means a homeless or abandoned child who lives or works on the streets.