babble

American  

[bab-uhl] / ˈbæb əl /

verb (used without object)

babbled, babbling

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

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

   Synonyms:

   blather, drivel, gabble, chitchat

3. to make a continuous, murmuring sound.

   Synonyms:

   burble, gurgle, murmur

---

verb (used with object)

babbled, babbling

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

2. to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly.

   to babble a secret.

noun

1. inarticulate or imperfect speech.

2. foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.

3. a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.

4. babbling.

5. Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels.

babble British  

/ ˈbæbəl /

verb

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

2. (intr) to talk foolishly, incessantly, or irrelevantly

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

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

---

noun

1. incoherent or foolish speech; chatter

2. a murmuring or bubbling sound

Other Word Forms

• babblement noun
• babbling noun
• outbabble verb (used with object)

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.

Example Sentences

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

About halfway through my babble, Tillman stopped me and said something like, ask it again, get to the point.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2024

They communicate using sounds that create distinct ambient noise in the colony -- like the babble of voices at a lively party.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 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

Even after a trumpeter appeared on a tiny balcony at the peak of the playhouse and blew a fanfare, the babble scarcely diminished.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Related Words

• blubber
• burble
• mumble
• murmur
• mutter