Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

Babbitt ¹ British  

/ ˈbæbɪt /

noun

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

---

babbitt ² British  

/ ˈbæbɪt /

verb

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

---

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!”

---

Discover More

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

"Technicolor" is the process with which this picture paints Zane Grey in hues like unto none he ever dreamed of conveying to the babbitt consciousness.

From Time Magazine Archive

He, a kindly babbitt, understands and finally helps Patsy to find the arms of the realtor.

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

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 hole is then filled with melted babbitt metal.

From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.

For example, it had nothing to do with the chance music of John Cage or the meticulously plotted complications of Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter, the American heroes of ’70s modernism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

Babbitt, who was Interior secretary under President Clinton from 1993 to 2001, said he thinks the Trump administration’s options are too narrow and inadequate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 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

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

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright