baby
an infant or very young child.
a newborn or very young animal.
the youngest member of a family, group, etc.: I was the baby of the family for ten years, until my twin brothers were born.
an adult who behaves like a child; an immature, helpless, or fearful person: Just swallow the medicine—don't be such a baby!
a human fetus: The baby hasn’t arrived yet, but the nursery is ready.
Informal.
Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a girl or woman, especially an attractive one.
a person of whom one is deeply fond; sweetheart.
(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar address (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).
a man or boy; fellow: He's a tough baby to have to deal with.
an invention, creation, project, or the like that requires one's special attention or expertise or of which one is especially proud: His charitable foundation is his baby and it truly shows.
an object; thing: Those big babies can carry a lot of cargo.
of or suitable for a baby: baby clothes.
of or like a baby; infantile: baby skin.
treating babies: a baby doctor.
small; comparatively little: baby eggplants.
to treat like a young child; pamper: She still babies her son although he's nearly 24.
to handle or use with special care; treat gently.
Origin of baby
1Other words for baby
Other words from baby
- ba·by·hood, noun
- ba·by·ish, adjective
- ba·by·ish·ly, adverb
- ba·by·ish·ness, noun
- ba·by·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use baby in a sentence
She’s the baby Karen gave up in Part 2, and she’s looking for her birth mother.
The mind-boggling end of Susan Choi’s Trust Exercise, explained | Constance Grady | November 20, 2020 | VoxLori Keith, who manages the Parnassus Mid Cap Fund, sees long-term demand for Teleflex’s equipment as baby boomers age.
The baby colugo reached out from under its mother, tugged a few small leaves and tried to nibble them.
On a cool night in Malaysia, scientists track mysterious colugos across the treetops | Yao-Hua Law | November 20, 2020 | Science NewsAli has yet to share the news on her personal Instagram account, or the baby’s name.
Rah Ali Has Given Birth To Her Rainbow Baby, A Daughter | Charli Penn | November 12, 2020 | Essence.comAndy updated us that he’s now in a committed relationship with a baby on the way.
Date Lab update: Their boots matched, at least! Here’s what happened next. | Damona Hoffman | November 12, 2020 | Washington Post
Parents sometimes have an attitude of, “I was brought up in the school of hard knocks, no one babied me.”
In this day and age, men have gone from being learned by their fathers and grandfathers, to being babied by their mothers.
Mike dearly loved cauliflowers, and babied ours as a flower gardener babies his hybrid tea roses.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard EatonHarriet insisted that she did not wish to be "babied," but, the guardian was firm.
The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea | Janet AldridgeIt's nonsense for a great hot-blooded clown, like me to be babied with a fire.
Bad Hugh | Mary Jane HolmesHe said the ankle would be lame just so long as it was babied, that he proposed to throw away his crutch on the following day.
The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts | Janet AldridgeUsed to being babied and somewhat pampered at home, his outspokenness troubled her.
Nan Sherwood on the Mexican Border | Annie Roe Carr
British Dictionary definitions for baby
/ (ˈbeɪbɪ) /
a newborn or recently born child; infant
(as modifier): baby food
an unborn child; fetus
the youngest or smallest of a family or group
a newborn or recently born animal
(as modifier): baby rabbits
usually derogatory an immature person
slang a young woman or sweetheart: often used as a term of address expressing affection
a project of personal concern
be left holding the baby to be left with the responsibility
throw the baby out with the bath water to lose the essential element by indiscriminate rejection
(prenominal) comparatively small of its type: a baby car
to treat with love and attention
to treat (someone) like a baby; pamper or overprotect
Origin of baby
1Derived forms of baby
- babyhood, noun
- babyish, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with baby
see throw out the baby with the bath water.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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