munchkin
/ˈmʌnʃkɪn/US/ˈmʌnt͡ʃkɪn/
munchkin noun: a child. Also the alternative letter-case form of Munchkin.
Noun (1)
munchkin (plural munchkins)
- A child.
- Picture this: your child begins his first day of group childcare, and he is suddenly surrounded by other munchkins his age […]2006, Michelle LaRowe, Nanny to the Rescue!: Straight Talk & Super Tips for Parenting in the Early Years, Thomas Nelson, published 2006, →ISBN, page 124
- A person of very short stature.
- It'll also have a keyboard configured for a munchkin (...)2009 August 25, Jonathan Salem Baskin, “Will Nokia's Next Chapter Be Kitchen Blenders?”, in InformationWeek's Digital Life Weblog
- Synonyms:
- dwarf, lilliputian, pygmy, tiddler
- A player who mainly concentrates on increasing their character's power and capabilities.
- Doesn't anybody recognize humor anymore, or have our faces gone completely stiff from thinking about good vs. evil or character balance or munchkin-zapping?1989 October 5, Hwang Tsong-Wen, “Bandwidth Wasters Hall of Fame for rec.games.frp”, in rec.games.frp (Usenet)
- Munchkinism is similar to "Monty Haul" gaming; however it involves playing at incredible power levels purely for the sake of watching the terrain get blown away by player characters who are unstoppable. Munchkinism also involves "rules rape," wherein players milk every advantage out of the rules....1993 February 22, Magnus, “What is Munchkinism? What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with roleplaying games?”, in news.answers (Usenet)
- Synonym of donut hole (“ball-shaped pastry”).
- Synonyms:
- donut hole
- A pet name one used for someone considered adorable, such as a pet, child, or a romantic partner.
Noun (2) capitalized: Munchkin
Munchkin (plural Munchkins)
- A domestic cat breed with short legs.
- Munchkins are in fact one of the Healthiest ^([sic]) of the registered cat breeds.1998 December 8, "ferretfriend", “Re: Munchkin cats and how I got mine.”, in alt.pets.cats (Usenet)
Also used as
munchkin is also the alternative letter-case form of Munchkin.
Examples of munchkin in a sentence
- Munchkinism also involves "rules rape," wherein players milk every advantage out of the rules.1993 February 22, Magnus, “What is Munchkinism? What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with roleplaying games?”, in news.answers (Usenet):
- You ARE a munchkin if .. you roll 4d6 and keep *all four*1997 January 31, Bill Wilson via Wildwood, “For those who are new... The Munchkin File!”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet):
Synonyms of munchkin
Forms of munchkin
| plural | munchkins |
|---|---|
| plural | Munchkins |
| alternative form | munchkin |
Origin of munchkin
Coined by American author L. Frank Baum in 1900 in his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Perhaps reflective of German Mensch or munch + -kin. Compare Low German Menschken and Low German Minschken. Sense 5 (“donut hole”) is a genericization of the Dunkin' trademark "Munchkins".
From munchkin.
Words formed from munchkin
Questions about munchkin
- What does munchkin mean?
- Munchkin means a child.
- How do you use munchkin in a sentence?
- Munchkinism also involves "rules rape," wherein players milk every advantage out of the rules.
- What part of speech is munchkin?
- Munchkin is a noun.
- How do you pronounce munchkin?
- Munchkin is pronounced /ˈmʌnʃkɪn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of munchkin?
- The plural of munchkin is munchkins.
Words near munchkin in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: munchkin (page history and authors); Munchkin (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-munchkin.wav.
Cite this entry: “munchkin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/munchkin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.