baby talk

American  

noun

1. the speech of children learning to talk, marked by syntactic differences from adult speech and by phonetic modifications like lisping, lalling, and the omission and substitution of sounds.

2. Also called parentese.  a style of speech used by adults in addressing children, pets, or sweethearts, and formed in imitation of the voice and pronunciation of children learning to talk: it is generally characterized in English by the addition of diminutive endings to words, the use of special words and pet names, and the systematic distortion of certain words, as dolly for doll, teensy-weensy for tiny, oo for you, and twain for train.

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baby talk British  

noun

1. the speech of very young children learning to talk

2. an adult's imitation of this

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Usage

Baby Talk is used as a label in this dictionary for well-known terms traditionally thought to exemplify the type of baby talk used by adults.

Etymology

Origin of baby talk

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

I’ve noted before the show’s Bill Whitaker pushing aside the UFO baby talk to give an honest account of enemy drones in U.S. military training sites.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

McVay making faces and cooing baby talk on a video call.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

“Anybody who has bipolar disorder and is worried and thinking about having a baby, talk to someone with experience in perinatal mental health,” she said.

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2024

Parents around the world coo at their babies in swooping, high-pitched tones called “motherese,” or baby talk.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 25, 2023

Such a dog-lover talks baby talk to mature and thoughtful animals, and attributes his own sloppy characteristics to them until the dog becomes in his mind an alter ego.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck