parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈper-ən-tiŋ 

1

: the raising of a child by its parents

2

: the act or process of becoming a parent

3

: the taking care of someone in the manner of a parent

Synonyms

• parenthood
• raising
• maternity
• mothering

Examples of parenting in a Sentence

They share the responsibilities of parenting.

as the big day approaches, the expectant couple are starting to get worried about their fitness for parenting

Recent Examples on the Web

Tony & Ziva explores love and parenting, which much of the cast has experienced in their lives off-screen. —Jacqueline Weiss, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025

Why Parents Benefit From A Reset The mental and practical labor of parenting intensifies when school is out. —Michelle Stansbury, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Co-parenting isn’t going too well for social media influencer and TV personality Brittany Renner and Dallas Mavericks’ player PJ Washington. —Essence, 2 Sep. 2025

The goal of the agreement, for Kelley to eventually regain unsupervised parenting time, remained unchanged. —Danielle Bacher, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing parenting

• attachment parenting
• foster parenting

Kids Definition

parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈpar-ənt-iŋ 

ˈper-

: the raising of a child by its parents

Medical Definition

parenting

noun

par·​ent·​ing ˈpar-ənt-iŋ, ˈper- 

: the raising of a child by its parents