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:
By then, Kent had already earned the trust of neighbors who hired him to mow their lawns or babysit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Even if they can’t babysit your son, they might be able to grab groceries for you or run other errands, and take some tasks off your to-do list.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 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
We were so out of control that a lot of older kids’ parents didn’t allow them to babysit us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
I lied and told him that Malik and I had an argument after he went to babysit his sisters.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Yesterday, we babysat our granddaughter while our daughter and her husband went out to lunch to celebrate her birthday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“My mom had to work, so I stayed with my grandparents and watched TV, and when I was 12 or 13, I babysat for a few different families.”
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
Speaking of personal experience, and on a lighter note, I understand that a teenage Grace Kelly babysat for you in Philadelphia?
From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2024
Now and then, even after they had kids, some of her parents’ friends had gone dancing on Saturdays while somebody babysat their kids.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Third place went to Pogacar's Mexican team-mate Isaac del Toro, who won stage two thanks largely to Pogacar's babysitting pace in the lead-up to the line.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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
Happily, you appear to be helping them with babysitting duties while your son-in-law plays the piano on an upper floor.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
“And so it does have to go from like, ‘Oh, you’re the manny’ to waking up to each other as something other than this transactional thing with you babysitting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026
So first thing in the morning, I approached Mrs. B, hoping to hit her up for a lucrative babysitting gig.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
