babbling

American  

[bab-ling] / ˈbæb lɪŋ /

noun

1. foolish or meaningless chatter; prattle.

   the constant babbling of idle gossips.

2. the random production of meaningless vocal sounds characteristic of infants around the age of three months.

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adjective

1. chattering or prattling aimlessly.

   The babbling crowd quieted and funneled back into the auditorium at the end of intermission.

2. making a continuous murmuring sound.

   a babbling brook.

Other Word Forms

• babblingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of babbling

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelinde, bablyng; see origin at babble, -ing ¹ (for the noun senses), -ing ² (for the adjective)

Example Sentences

Babbling and blabbing all along with only about 1/3 of his content having any meaning in reality.

From Salon • Sep. 22, 2023

Babbling is like a behavioral readout of the ongoing vocal learning happening in the brain.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2021

Babbling in infants and toddlers is vital practice in gaining that control.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2021

Babbling happily in the accents of Poland, Puerto Rico, Italy and Brooklyn, they marched half a mile up Eighth Avenue to Madison Square Garden.

From Time Magazine Archive

Babbling o’er the pebbles; Winding about, and in and out, With here a blossom sailing, And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling.’

From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Stables, Gordon