How to Use only child in a Sentence

only child

noun
Definition of only childnext
  • Spence was her mother’s only child and the two were close.
    — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 22 July 2023
  • Emilio, their only child, died of leukemia two years later, in the arms of his mom and dad.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 15 Oct. 2024
  • Presley, the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, died Jan. 12 at the age of 54.
    — Jordan Freiman, CBS News, 13 July 2023
  • Presley, 54, was the only child of rock icon Elvis Presley.
    — David K. Li, NBC News, 8 Oct. 2024
  • Her only child, Nigel, died by suicide on April 18 that year.
    — Devon M. Sayers, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Our only child at that time was going to a public school.
    — Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 15 July 2024
  • Her husband is on the front line, and Vova is an only child, so Kucherenko lives in their small, tidy house alone.
    — Claire Harbage, NPR, 22 May 2024
  • Know your kid Being the only child on an all-adults tour isn’t going to work for every kid.
    — Christine Sarkis, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024
  • Wu grew up in San Jose, the only child of immigrant parents.
    — Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
  • She’s been open about her grief journey while raising the couple’s only child, a son named Elvis.
    — Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2023
  • Angus Mitchell, the only child of hairstylist Paul Mitchell, has died.
    — Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 5 Jan. 2024
  • For a parent of an only child, the bar could also be customized with the baby’s first name.
    — Maya Polton, Parents, 27 Mar. 2024
  • For Demchuk, tearful and mourning the loss of her only child, there can be no retreat from Bakhmut.
    — Matt Bradley, NBC News, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Their only child, Julien, came out as transgender at age 11.
    — Trip Gabriel Hilary Swift, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
  • Jones is survived by the couple’s only child, Flynn Earl Jones.
    — Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 9 Sep. 2024
  • Frances Bean Cobain, an artist and model, was her father's only child with wife Courtney Love.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2024
  • Phil and Jill welcomed their first and only child together, a daughter named Lily Collins, in 1989.
    — Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 15 Aug. 2024
  • If your plant baby is an only child or simply likes to be alone, there’s no reason to overwhelm them with a huge light.
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Klinghoffer is being sued by Ashley Sanchez, the only child of Israel Sanchez.
    — Bruce Haring, Deadline, 10 July 2024
  • The mother of 23-year-old victim Nicholas Cleves also told the jury about her grief since losing her only child.
    — Lauren Del Valle, CNN, 8 Mar. 2023
  • O’Connor’s Orpheus, the poet, musician, and oracle, is the only child of Dream and the muse, Calliope.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024
  • The 29-year-old mother of two grew up as the only child of a single mom, a Lake Michigan ship captain, and often joined her mom aboard vessels.
    — Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024
  • Helen Cartwright is a widow, and her only child, for reasons best left for readers to learn, is absent.
    — Danny Heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2024
  • A week before her death, in 2022, Connie asked to accompany Owens, her only child, to Venice.
    — Nick Haramis Ola Rindal Dogukan Nesanir, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
  • On a path to ‘my destiny’ Back when Evans was a high school senior, her mother summoned the nerve to take her only child and skip town toward safety.
    — Virginia Brown, Charlotte Observer, 6 Mar. 2024
  • Maria, who was an only child during World War II, lost a younger brother to a farming accident.
    — Sergii Mukaieliants, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023
  • My husband is an only child and doesn’t have a close relationship with his parents.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 17 Oct. 2024
  • The couple welcomed their only child together, a son named Simon Collins, in 1976.
    — Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 15 Aug. 2024
  • Brooke has no father, and Asher’s beloved daughter, his only child, died at her desk at Cantor Fitzgerald in the 9/11 attacks.
    — Laura Miller, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
  • Gram Parsons’ only child, Polly Parsons, is no stranger to her father’s ghost.
    — Nate Rogers, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'only child.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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