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• babbitt
  babbitt

  noun

  Babbitt metal.
• Babbitt
  Babbitt

  noun

  Irving, 1865–1933, U.S. educator and critic.

babbitt

¹ American  

[bab-it] / ˈbæb ɪt /

noun

1. Babbitt metal.

2. a bearing or lining of Babbitt metal.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or made of Babbitt metal.

verb (used with object)

1. to line, face, or furnish with Babbitt metal.

Babbitt ² American  

[bab-it] / ˈbæb ɪt /

noun

1. Irving, 1865–1933, U.S. educator and critic.

2. Milton Byron, 1916–2011, U.S. composer.

3. (italics) a novel (1922) by Sinclair Lewis.

4. (often lowercase) a self-satisfied person who conforms readily to conventional, middle-class ideas and ideals, especially of business and material success; Philistine: from the main character in the novel by Sinclair Lewis.

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Babbitt ¹ British  

/ ˈbæbɪt /

noun

1. derogatory a narrow-minded and complacent member of the middle class

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babbitt ² British  

/ ˈbæbɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to line (a bearing) or face (a surface) with Babbitt metal or a similar soft alloy

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Babbitt Cultural  

1. (1922) A novel by Sinclair Lewis. The title character, an American real estate agent in a small city, is portrayed as a crass, loud, overoptimistic boor who thinks only about money and speaks in clichés, such as “You've gotta have pep, by golly!”

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By extension, a “Babbitt” is a narrow-minded, materialistic businessman.

Other Word Forms

• Babbittry
  noun

Etymology

Origin of babbitt

First recorded in 1900–05; short for Babbitt metal

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

babbitt Babbitt

Varying proportions of copper and tin give gun metal, bell metal, babbitt metal and many another alloy, the greater the percentage of tin the harder being the resulting composition.

From Time Magazine Archive

Naturally Monsignor Seipel, Chancellor of Austria did not trumpet his proposal, last week, like a blatant babbitt.

From Time Magazine Archive

Balzac was a cross between a babbitt and a stroke of lightning.

From Time Magazine Archive

Advantages, claimed in a Du Pont patent: no lubrication required; less friction, vibration, heat; longer wear and ability to carry heavier loads than bearings made of bronze, brass, babbitt metal.

From Time Magazine Archive

The cone-shaft bearings are babbitt lined, but the spindle bearings are made of cast iron, in which steel scrap has been melted.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

Ads, in fact, quickly turned Babbitt into a widely recognized brand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

While the election results were being officially certified by Congress, Trump addressed a crowd that included Babbitt.

From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2026

Randy Babbitt - a former head of the FAA - told the NewsNation network: "They have very, very high standards to be an air traffic controller. Diversity has nothing to do with it."

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt says with climate change shrinking the Colorado River, Western states should renegotiate a key 1922 agreement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2024

And this had happened because I had read a novel about a mythical man called George F. Babbitt.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright