definitions

babe in arms

An infant, as in She's been a family friend since I was a babe in arms. Although the word “babe” for baby has been used since the 1300s, this phrase describing a child too young to walk (and hence having to be carried) dates only from about 1900.

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Nearby words

babbler, babbling, babbling brook, babcock test, babe, babe in arms, babe in the woods, babe-in-a-cradle, babel, babel, tower of, babelism
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Examples from the Web for babe in arms

  • There were a half dozen of them—two men, three females, and one babe-in-arms.

    Quest of the Golden Ape|Ivar Jorgensen