babble

[ bab-uhl ]

verb (used without object)

, bab·bled, bab·bling.

1. to utter sounds or words imperfectly, indistinctly, or without meaning.
2. to talk idly, irrationally, excessively, or foolishly; chatter or prattle.

   Synonyms: blather, drivel, gabble, chitchat

3. to make a continuous, murmuring sound.

   Synonyms: burble, gurgle, murmur

verb (used with object)

, bab·bled, bab·bling.

1. to utter in an incoherent, foolish, or meaningless fashion.
2. to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly:

   to babble a secret.

noun

1. inarticulate or imperfect speech.
2. foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.
3. a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.
4. babbling ( def 2 ).
5. Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels. Compare cross talk ( def 1 ).

babble

/ ˈbæbəl /

verb

1. to utter (words, sounds, etc) in an incoherent or indistinct jumble
2. intr to talk foolishly, incessantly, or irrelevantly
3. tr to disclose (secrets, confidences, etc) carelessly or impulsively
4. intr (of streams, birds, etc) to make a low murmuring or bubbling sound

noun

1. incoherent or foolish speech; chatter
2. a murmuring or bubbling sound

Derived Forms

• ˈbabbling, nounadjective
• ˈbabblement, noun

Other Words From

• outbabble verb (used with object) outbabbled outbabbling

Word History and Origins

Origin of babble¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelen; cognate with Old Norse babbla, Dutch babbelen, German pappelen

Word History and Origins

Origin of babble¹

C13: compare Dutch babbelen , Swedish babbla , French babiller to prattle, Latin babulus fool; probably all of imitative origin

Example Sentences

The anti-gun contingent stands before an Everest of obstacles, a wall of patriotic babble about Second Amendment privileges.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, I described them this way myself when I wrote about infant memory two years ago for Babble.

From The Daily Beast

Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Washington Post, Salon, and Babble.

From The Daily Beast

Taffy Brodesser-Akner has written for the Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Babble, among other publications.

From The Daily Beast

Baby Kirst had fulfilled his destiny and would babble his way through the forests no more.

From Project Gutenberg

But after that momentary and inexplicable experience, the babble of thought went on as before.

From Project Gutenberg

As they went down into the valley of the Thyme, the babble of the stream rose into the air like a perennial laughter.

From Project Gutenberg

He does not say cryptic things or babble trivialities in the name of the mighty Dead—the mighty Damned or the mighty Blest.

From Project Gutenberg

All was silence, except somewhere, secluded and unseen, the splash and babble of falling water.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blubber
• burble
• mumble
• murmur
• mutter