baa
verb (used without object)
to make the sound of a sheep; bleat.
baa
1 American
[ba, bah]
/ bæ, bɑ /
verb (used without object)
-
baas,
present (3rd person singular)
-
baaed,
past participle, past
-
baaing
present participle
noun
-
baas
plural
B.A.A.
2
American
abbreviation
baa
1
British
/ bɑː /
verb
noun
BAA
2
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
baasimple
-
baassimple
-
have baaedperfect
-
has baaedperfect
-
am baaingprogressive
-
are baaingprogressive
-
is baaingprogressive
-
have been baaingperfect progressive
-
has been baaingperfect progressive
Past
-
baaedsimple
-
had baaedperfect
-
was baaingprogressive
-
were baaingprogressive
-
had been baaingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of baa
First recorded in 1580–90; imitative
Explanation
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."
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:
All baa myself: Is this Britain's loneliest sheep?
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2023
Bleat, baa, and ragdoll your way through the world getting up to all kinds of goat-flavored shenanigans.
From The Verge ● Aug. 23, 2022
He’s all baa and no humbug in the new animated adventure “Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2021
They will bleat and baa and maybe even butt heads.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2017
Louisa laughed and teased and goaded like a goblin; and what was worse, she told the other children, and incited them to "baa" quietly whenever Tristran walked past.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
The B.A.A. will also provide all Ukrainians who are registered in the marathon or 5K and are unable to compete with a refund or option to defer to a future year.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
The B.A.A. said it won’t recognize the country affiliation or flags of Russia and Belarus until further notice.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
"The B.A.A. is tremendously saddened to learn of the passing of Boston Marathon icon Dick Hoyt," the organization said in a statement.
From Fox News ● Mar. 18, 2021
For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 10, 2018
Before the 1949-50 season, the B.A.A. and the N.B.L. merged to form the N.B.A.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2016
This spring, the BAA said it would add minutes to times of runners who use downhill courses to qualify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2025
He was in a meeting with about 30 other survivors when they all got an email from the BAA offering a chance to run the race the following year.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
The BAA in a statement did not directly address the commission’s decision.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2023
“Women who are entered in a BAA race and want to expand their family will be able to do just that without giving up a chance to participate at a future BAA event.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2023
"We will review all children where the audit and reviews by BAA have raised concerns and will share any identified assessments that were not carried out to the required standard," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2022
In Chicago this week, amid bellows, oinks, neighs and baas, with the skirl of a bagpipe band, exuberant farmers gathered for the 42nd International Livestock Exposition.
From Time Magazine Archive
In their tongue B.A.A.S. would spell revolting baas, "master," "boss."
From Time Magazine Archive
Said a rival: "Lady Caroline baas like a little sheep."
From Time Magazine Archive
No one was calling me baas and master any longer.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Many whites at the ranch had accepted me as an individual, an equal, that I called them by their first names, instead of baas, and could joke with them.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
That followed a French operetta duet that had Felicity Lott making turkey noises while Maltman baaed like a sheep.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 30, 2012
If Dolly the cloned sheep had been able to talk, would she have chased those Scottish scientists into their lab and baaed for explanations?
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2012
The percentage of monetary increase to be provided for that year should therefore be baaed on the increased number.
From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by John P. (John Percival) Jones
Finding herself separated from her companions, she wanted to rejoin them, and the more Gudbrand tugged at her tether, the more piteously she baaed.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 3, March, 1862 by Various
A watchful ram baaed awesomely as it rose.
From The Wrong Woman by Charles D. Stewart
As he passionately delivers the final choruses, two actors in sheep hats pop up and sing along with him, baaing the titular lyrics to big audience laughs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2021
At the Joneslan Farm, on a dirt road with views of mountains, the goats erupt into baaing and crowd the fences inside the barn to inspect anyone who walks in as they munch on hay.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
On the lawn in front of Isabella Rossellini’s house, an elegant barn-to-home conversion in a chicly rural corner of Long Island, a few of them stood around baaing, waiting for their person to emerge.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2020
We had to stop twice while herds of sheep, baaing and clanging their way down from their summer pastures to winter ones, engulfed our car for several minutes.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2018
If there’s a stream gurgling under a bridge on the road, birds singing and cows mooing and lambs baaing, that’s better than any band in a film.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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