babysit
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to take watchful responsibility for (a child).
We're looking for someone to babysit the kids in the evening.
-
to take watchful responsibility for; tend.
It will be necessary for someone to babysit the machine until it is running properly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of babysit
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Parents who have family support nearby said that they saved about $1,915 per year on childcare by having willing grandparents babysit their kids or having family help buy groceries.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
On a Saturday, I will happily get up at 6 a.m. with coffee to babysit yeasted cinnamon rolls or start whisking hollandaise.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
By then, Kent had already earned the trust of neighbors who hired him to mow their lawns or babysit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Jean Hanlon had been due to babysit a child with learning disabilities in Crete and when she didn't turn up alarm bells rang.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
She worked really long hours, which is why they hired Lourdes to babysit me.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Yesterday, we babysat our granddaughter while our daughter and her husband went out to lunch to celebrate her birthday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Later, she babysat and washed dishes for an academic couple in exchange for room and board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Well, first of all, the version of “Mary Poppins” that babysat millions of us wouldn’t exist.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2025
Once, he babysat for Dreyer’s 3-year old daughter and upon finding out she loved school buses, set out to stop one in the street in order to give her a ride.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
She was also, not incidentally, a single mother raising a dear, precocious boy named Jonathan, whom I often babysat.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Hunter chalked up the babysitting remark to his own naivete when it came to being vulnerable with other players he thought were his friends on the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
In his acceptance speech, Kano thanked his mum, "for babysitting right now".
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Her version: "He needs somebody there for him 100 percent of the time ... That's not love, it's babysitting."
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
Happily, you appear to be helping them with babysitting duties while your son-in-law plays the piano on an upper floor.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
Teddy and I took an impromptu day trip to the beach, so you’re off the hook for babysitting this afternoon.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
