First recorded in 1580–90; imitative
Use the word baa to describe the sound a sheep makes. A lamb might baa for its mother if it finds itself alone. Every language has words that mimic the cries and noises animals make, and in English sheep and goats baa. In Dutch, sheep say bè bè, and in Japanese they say meh meh. The imitative word baa, first recorded in the late 1500s, can be either a noun or a verb, depending how you use it. Baa makes a famous appearance in the well-known children's song "Baa baa Black Sheep."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Louise Scriven said she heard of a woman being harassed near Nottingham's Baa Bar on Monday and then saw her being refused entry to the venue.
From BBC • May 28, 2022
The startup threw a London premiere for “Baa Baa Land,” an eight-hour slow film starring grazing sheep.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2019
In September, a meditation-app company called Calm premiered a film, “Baa Baa Land,” in which sheep graze in a field, presenting it as the “ultimate insomnia cure.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2018
The plane not only survived the war, it had been featured in “Baa Baa Blacksheep,” a TV series that aired in the late 1970s about a group of Marine fighter pilots during World War II.
From Washington Times • Oct. 14, 2016
She quoted to him from Rumi; she sang what she knew of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," mixing it up with "Baa Baa, Black Sheep."
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
