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
Though her “Spike Cafe” is about a year old, she says she has to “continue to babysit it,” as pigeons aren’t exactly known for their tidiness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 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
“Emma and I are excited about our business. I want to babysit, OK? I double, triple, quadruple promise.”
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
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
At her new home in the northeastern United States, her mother cleaned house and babysat two toddlers.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
In his acceptance speech, Kano thanked his mum, "for babysitting right now".
From BBC ● May 21, 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
“I thought we were just babysitting her until we could find her a home!”
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
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.
