babble
Americanverb (used without object)
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babbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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babbled,
past participle, past
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babbling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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babbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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babbled,
past participle, past
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babbling
present participle
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to utter in an incoherent, foolish, or meaningless fashion.
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to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly.
to babble a secret.
noun
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inarticulate or imperfect speech.
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foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.
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a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.
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Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels.
verb
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to utter (words, sounds, etc) in an incoherent or indistinct jumble
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(intr) to talk foolishly, incessantly, or irrelevantly
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(tr) to disclose (secrets, confidences, etc) carelessly or impulsively
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(intr) (of streams, birds, etc) to make a low murmuring or bubbling sound
noun
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incoherent or foolish speech; chatter
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a murmuring or bubbling sound
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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babblesimple
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babblessimple
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have babbledperfect
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has babbledperfect
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am babblingprogressive
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are babblingprogressive
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is babblingprogressive
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have been babblingperfect progressive
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has been babblingperfect progressive
Past
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babbledsimple
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had babbledperfect
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was babblingprogressive
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were babblingprogressive
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had been babblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of babble
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelen; cognate with Old Norse babbla, Dutch babbelen, German pappelen
Explanation
To babble is to talk on and on without a particular goal. It might drive you crazy when your little sister babbles endlessly about her favorite video game. Babble sounds like Babel, the Biblical tower where everyone was talking in their own language. Everyone was babbling without paying attention to their neighbors, like the kid who won’t stop talking about his trip to the water park three years ago. A stream or a brook can babble, too, but that’s more of a soothing sound of water against rocks. Babies gurgle, because they don’t have enough words to babble yet.
Vocabulary lists containing babble
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Instead he softened the blow with corporate babble: “You were building the plane while you flew it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, the southern pied babbler does not, in fact, merely babble.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
Above us swallows dart through the air, Graeme takes a picture of a damsel fly and the brook to our side continues to babble.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2024
Only hours later, when I began to babble incoherently, did my OB realize that the doctor in question had missed my epidural space.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2023
Samir called them his towers of babble, but it was also clear that they were costly merchandise.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Kente babbles on about a mill; the workers struggle to understand what he’s on about even as they try to explain what they’re doing.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
I listened to their babbles and tried to echo the sounds I heard.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2022
But with more than 1,400 bat species in the world, Dr Fernandez "really thinks there will be another that babbles".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2021
Finally, most baby babbles seem to lack communicative purpose.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 19, 2021
She babbles on about her classes while I ruin leaf after red leaf.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Meanwhile, Whoopi stepped up the blotting, offering comforting words to Jones while Behar babbled on in her own defense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
I spent days pressing a light-up toy when we said his name to draw his attention and babbled incessantly in his face so he could copy my lip patterns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
German reports said Arthur E was a diamond trader who had "babbled like a brook" after his arrest.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2023
Parents wiping schmear from their children's cheeks as the little ones babbled and squawked.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2022
“Yes. I love the Institute. It's my most favorite place. Well, aside from New Orleans. But yes, I love it,” she babbled.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
In the book, most homes have parlor walls with huge video screens that broadcast streams of babbling commentary for both entertainment and manipulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Briany was sitting on Raysa’s lap as they watched TV in the living room, babbling along as she listened to the couple talk, when Israel’s phone rang.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026
"America is a big place with 350 plus million people all babbling over their identity and their agency and those struggles create interesting patterns," he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Fortunately, almost as soon as Dek lands on Genna, a planet of murderous flora, to bag his Kalisk, he runs into a babbling half-robot missing her legs who makes the movie much more compelling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
