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street urchin

(British, dated) A child who lives, or spends most of their time, in the streets; sometimes a petty thief or pickpocket.

ˈstɹit ˈɝt͡ʃən34 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
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UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK

(British, dated) A child who lives, or spends most of their time, in the streets; sometimes a petty thief or pickpocket.

She ran to the door and there beheld the ragged street urchin calmly playing his organ.
Origin: First use appears in a publication by Thomas Carlyle. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.

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