babbling
Americannoun
-
foolish or meaningless chatter; prattle.
the constant babbling of idle gossips.
-
the random production of meaningless vocal sounds characteristic of infants around the age of three months.
adjective
-
chattering or prattling aimlessly.
The babbling crowd quieted and funneled back into the auditorium at the end of intermission.
-
making a continuous murmuring sound.
a babbling brook.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of babbling
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelinde, bablyng; see origin at babble, -ing 1 (for the noun senses), -ing 2 (for the adjective)
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.
In the book, most homes have parlor walls with huge video screens that broadcast streams of babbling commentary for both entertainment and manipulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The phrase echoed the one I had spoken years earlier to a babbling toddler in a Baltimore church.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2026
"America is a big place with 350 plus million people all babbling over their identity and their agency and those struggles create interesting patterns," he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
The question left Pearce reeling, babbling out a reply that his laptop had automatically switched in an incorrect address on documents he’d uploaded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2025
“Dad—there’s something wrong with her,” I was babbling.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
