bauble
Americannoun
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baubles
plural
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a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw.
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a jester's scepter.
noun
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a showy toy or trinket of little value; trifle
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Usual US name: Christmas ornament. a small, usually spherical ornament made of coloured or decorated material which is hung from the branches of a Christmas tree
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(formerly) a mock staff of office carried by a court jester
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bauble
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English babel, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel, derivatives of an expressive base with varying vocalisms; compare Old French baubelet “little trinket”; see bibelot
Explanation
Baubles are trinkets or novelty items that cost little and aren’t very important or valuable, such as a plastic ring in the shape of a daisy that covers half of your finger in hot-pink plastic. Baubles: the Mardi Gras beads you collected last year, the small statue of the Eiffel tower your grandparents brought back from Paris, those big glass bulbs you use to decorate a Christmas tree, a computer mouse made to look like a hamburger.
Vocabulary lists containing bauble
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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:
In the run up to Christmas, Zarwa has decorated a bauble for a Christmas tree at London's St Pancras station, created in partnership with the Gosh charity.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
So fear not, you might get an AI bauble or two but your phone won’t vanish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Publicist Francesca Simons, whose firm represents jeweler Jacquie Aiche, posted more details about the bauble to her Instagram stories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
Even so, this direct-to-streaming bauble benefits from two leads whose charm effortlessly outshines the material.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2024
It was dismaying to be chosen like a new bauble and then forgotten, a mere passing fancy.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Her answer was definite: We should sort out and sell or give away almost all of our trinkets, T-shirts, books and baubles before we die—rather than leaving a dreary chore for friends or families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Then, they moved to the solarium, which already boasted a slew of colorful and lit up greenery, which they hung baubles from.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 30, 2025
Mr King said he also used to decorate his tree with tinsel and glass baubles.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
Locals – both Christians and Muslims - pose for selfies in front of the tree hung with red and gold baubles in Manger Square.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
She remembered her mother, dressed in a paper crown and red velvet cloak, blowing kisses across the flames to her father, dressed as a joker with gold and silver baubles hanging from his cap.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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.
