babysit
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to take watchful responsibility for (a child).
We're looking for someone to babysit the kids in the evening.
-
to take watchful responsibility for; tend.
It will be necessary for someone to babysit the machine until it is running properly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of babysit
First recorded in 1945–50
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:
One thing is clear: These lounges aren’t designed solely to babysit restless kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Social media posts show users "raising" their rice cakes, complaining about being at home to babysit, and dubbing them their new pets.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
And further I suspect the newlyweds just want us on the trip to babysit my mother-in-law.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 8, 2025
Tiffany Story says her cousin was also among the victims, along with four other people that she knew, including someone she once used to babysit for.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
When she used to babysit him, before she cut Ma off.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
Yesterday, we babysat our granddaughter while our daughter and her husband went out to lunch to celebrate her birthday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Well, first of all, the version of “Mary Poppins” that babysat millions of us wouldn’t exist.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2025
As a high-schooler in the 1950s, Kay Washburn babysat for 50 hours to afford her $25 dream dress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Some days, he babysat his 8-year-old brother, who couldn’t sit through Zoom classes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
“Because I don’t need nobody thinkin’ I gotta be babysat or somethin’.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
A word of caution: You have made a substantial tally of everything you have done for your daughter, including babysitting, making 529 contributions and providing generous IVF assistance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Most employees now spend over six hours a week of their workday babysitting their work chatbots, the survey said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
Rachel said all of her friends her age either give their kids money or give them substantial nonfinancial help, like babysitting the grandchildren regularly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Her version: "He needs somebody there for him 100 percent of the time ... That's not love, it's babysitting."
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
There’s babysitting, though I don’t think I’d enjoy that much.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
