babble

[ bab-uhl ]

/ ˈbæb əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR babble ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), bab·bled, bab·bling.

to utter sounds or words imperfectly, indistinctly, or without meaning.

to talk idly, irrationally, excessively, or foolishly; chatter or prattle.

to make a continuous, murmuring sound.

verb (used with object), bab·bled, bab·bling.

to utter in an incoherent, foolish, or meaningless fashion.

to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly: to babble a secret.

noun

inarticulate or imperfect speech.

foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.

a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.

babbling(def 2).

Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels.Compare cross talk(def 1).

Nearby words

babbitt, babbitt metal, babbitt, irving, babbitt, milton, babbittry, babble, babbler, babbling, babbling brook, babblingly, babcock test

Origin of babble

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

SYNONYMS FOR babble

2 chitchat, gabble, drivel, blather.

3 murmur, gurgle, burble.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR babble ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

out·bab·ble, verb (used with object), out·bab·bled, out·bab·bling.

Can be confused

babble bauble bubble

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for babble

In fact, I described them this way myself when I wrote about infant memory two years ago for Babble.
What Your Baby Remembers|Heather Turgeon|November 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Washington Post, Salon, and Babble.
You're Pregnant, Have a Drink|Kate Tuttle|October 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Taffy Brodesser-Akner has written for the Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Babble, among other publications.
Who's Killing the Soaps?|Taffy Brodesser-Akner|December 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Thuds, shrieks, a babble of native words, and familiar English terms floated in and disturbed my rest.
A Woman's Impression of the Philippines|Mary H. (Mary Helen) Fee

If you are foolish enough to babble your own about the campus, on your head be it.
Marjorie Dean College Junior|Pauline Lester
Absorbed in antiquity, she ignores the babble of contemporaneous lovers.
A Cathedral Courtship|Kate Douglas Wiggin
There was a babble of talk, which ceased abruptly as Mr. Goddard entered.
The Search Party|G. A. Birmingham
My bed-room is convenient, and yet I am far from the babble of the household.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XII. No. 31. October, 1873.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for babble

babble

/ (ˈbæbəl) /

verb

to utter (words, sounds, etc) in an incoherent or indistinct jumble

(intr) to talk foolishly, incessantly, or irrelevantly

(tr) to disclose (secrets, confidences, etc) carelessly or impulsively

(intr) (of streams, birds, etc) to make a low murmuring or bubbling sound

noun

incoherent or foolish speech; chatter

a murmuring or bubbling sound

Derived Forms

babblement, nounbabbling, noun, adjective

Word Origin for babble

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012