baby
Americannoun
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babies
plural
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an infant or very young child.
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a newborn or very young animal.
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the youngest member of a family, group, etc..
I was the baby of the family for ten years, until my twin brothers were born.
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an adult who behaves like a child; an immature, helpless, or fearful person.
Just swallow the medicine—don't be such a baby!
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a human fetus.
The baby hasn’t arrived yet, but the nursery is ready.
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Informal.
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Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a girl or woman, especially an attractive one.
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a person of whom one is deeply fond; sweetheart.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar address (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).
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a man or boy; fellow.
He's a tough baby to have to deal with.
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an invention, creation, project, or the like that requires one's special attention or expertise or of which one is especially proud.
His charitable foundation is his baby and it truly shows.
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an object; thing.
Those big babies can carry a lot of cargo.
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adjective
verb (used with object)
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babies,
present (3rd person singular)
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babied,
past participle, past
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babying
present participle
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to treat like a young child; pamper.
She still babies her son although he's nearly 24.
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to handle or use with special care; treat gently.
noun
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a newborn or recently born child; infant
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( as modifier )
baby food
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an unborn child; fetus
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the youngest or smallest of a family or group
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a newborn or recently born animal
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( as modifier )
baby rabbits
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derogatory an immature person
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slang a young woman or sweetheart: often used as a term of address expressing affection
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a project of personal concern
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to be left with the responsibility
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to lose the essential element by indiscriminate rejection
adjective
verb
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to treat with love and attention
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to treat (someone) like a baby; pamper or overprotect
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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babysimple
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babiessimple
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have babiedperfect
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has babiedperfect
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am babyingprogressive
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are babyingprogressive
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is babyingprogressive
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have been babyingperfect progressive
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has been babyingperfect progressive
Past
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babiedsimple
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had babiedperfect
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was babyingprogressive
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were babyingprogressive
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had been babyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of baby
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; see origin at babe, -y 2
Explanation
A baby is the one wearing diapers and a pacifier in her mouth. That baby is so darn lovable, however, that the word is perhaps overused to describe anyone or anything you feel passionately about. Everybody loves the baby, so much so that you might call your girlfriend 'baby' even though she's 23. If you work in construction, you might call any woman with nice legs baby as she walks past. You also might snidely call your little brother baby when he cries about getting a ball thrown in his face. When your mother has to take him to the ER for stitches after said wounding, you might defensively say "She's just babying him, he's fine."
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:
You might say that fleecing California’s cradle-to-grave state is like taking candy from a baby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
On Sept. 9, deputies got a tip that a couple was living with a newborn baby under an Interstate 5 overpass, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
She refused and moved from Alaska to Texas, where the baby was born.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
He hoped charities, teachers and therapists could use the book to help those dealing with the loss of a baby.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
King Barf cradled the bundle of gold like a baby to his chest.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
The lives of some of the smallest and sickest babies in Scotland are being put at risk because of delays in reorganising neonatal care, doctors have warned.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The government says only 50-60 of the most premature and fragile babies will be affected by the reorganisation.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Petitioner Lynne McRitchie says there are "outstanding questions" over the published documents and clinical evidence, including conflicting figures about the number of babies affected.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Bliss, a charity that supports premature babies and their families, is also in favour of the reorganisation.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Squirrels are no geniuses, mind you, but the squirrel babies already knew how to line up on the branch of the elm to beg for treats.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
“You got babied, that’s why you ain’t win,” O’Neal told Barkley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
But perhaps most memorable, especially for anyone who has ever babied, basted and otherwise fussed over a 14-pound bird, is the season four episode “Turkey in a Can.”
From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2023
It also doesn’t include fellow all-star Tony Gonsolin because the Los Angeles Dodgers have so babied his development that he doesn’t have a 20-start season yet.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2022
He’s done so, supposedly, to care for Ginny, 34, who has Down syndrome but doesn’t want to be babied.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
By the other districts’ standards, the Capitol babied the inhabitants here.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
There was no babying of their baby brother — and no extra protection from parents, either.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
But as for the Mariners babying him and not letting him come back, you’d be 100 percent incorrect on this situation.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2022
But breaking the habit of babying your puppy will prep it for being touched by other people in different situations.
From Fox News ● Mar. 23, 2022
“To me, the baseball players, if they stop babying the pitchers — a lot of those guys they’ve come up hitting all their life and they’re really good players,” Del Rio said with a smile.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 25, 2021
“Oh, stop babying him. He's nearly an adult.”
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
