An urchin is a ragged, often mischievous child, usually one who lives on the streets or in poverty. The word creates an image of a scruffy kid with dirty clothes, messy hair, and a knack for getting into trouble or surviving by their wits.

You'll often encounter urchin in classic literature and historical settings. In Charles Dickens's novels about Victorian London, street urchins roamed the crowded neighborhoods, sometimes picking pockets or running errands for pennies. Oliver Twist, one of literature's most famous orphans, is sometimes described as a street urchin before his fortunes changed.

The word isn't usually meant to be mean-spirited. When someone calls a child an urchin, they might actually find the scrappy, adventurous spirit somewhat charming. A parent watching their kid come home covered in mud after an afternoon of fort-building might laugh and say, “Look at this little urchin!”