love child

noun

plural love children

1

: a child whose parents were not married when the child was conceived

especially : the child of an affair

My older sister, Jean Marie, was the love child of an affair my mother had with a married man who, instead of leaving his wife for my mother, died of a heart attack.

—William Skeans, Jr.

—often used figuratively

A pair of furry Ugg slides that are basically a love child of your comfiest slippers and practical summer sandals.

—Kaysey Davis

2

: something (such as a project or collaboration) that is a product of hard work and devotion

The museum is the love child of the company's owner, Jacques Lorch, who for twenty-five years has been ferreting out artifacts pertaining to the subject that is his passion.

—Naomi Barry

Synonyms

• by-blow [dated]
• whoreson [archaic]

Examples of love child in a Sentence

the love child of a famous actor and one of his fans

a woman who claimed to be the love child of two of Hollywood's most beloved stars during its golden age

Recent Examples on the Web

Looking like a love child between an elliptical and a StairMaster—your feet stay on the pedals the whole time, but just go straight up and down rather than in arcs—the viral gadget is compact, portable, and typically pretty budget-friendly. —Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 16 Oct. 2024

Five days later, my palms still look like the love child of an aged orange and jaundice. —Funmi Fetto, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2024

Singer-songwriter Carly Simon came on the show wanting to know more about her grandmother who claimed to be the king of Spain’s love child. —Edward Rueda, NBC News, 29 Sep. 2024

Some of this comes from the sheer delight that comes from the verbal dexterity of McCarthy’s dialogue, which is filled with witty philosophical exchanges that feel like the work of a deranged love child of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche and Preston Sturges. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1