infant

American  

[in-fuhnt] / ˈɪn fənt /

noun

infants plural

1. a child during the earliest period of their life, especially before they can walk; baby.

2. Law. a person who is not of full age, especially one who has not reached the age of 18 years; a minor.

3. a beginner, as in experience or learning; novice.

   The new candidate is a political infant.

4. anything in the first stage of existence or progress.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to infants or infancy.

   infant years.

2. being in infancy.

   an infant king.

3. being in the earliest stage.

   an infant industry.

4. of or relating to the legal state of infancy; minor.

infant British  

/ ˈɪnfənt /

noun

1. a child at the earliest stage of its life; baby

2. law another word for minor

3. a young schoolchild, usually under the age of seven

4. a person who is beginning or inexperienced in an activity

5. (modifier)

   1. of or relating to young children or infancy

   2. designed or intended for young children

---

adjective

1. in an early stage of development; nascent

   an infant science or industry

2. law of or relating to the legal status of infancy

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• infanthood
  noun
• infantlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• infants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of infant

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin infant- (stem of infāns ) “small child,” literally, “one unable to speak,” equivalent to in- in- ³ + -fāns, present participle of fārī “to speak”; replacing Middle English enfaunt, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above

Explanation

An infant is a baby. When you were an infant, you weren't able to walk, talk, or feed yourself (but you had a pretty mean burp). Infant is most often used for a very young human, but you can also use it to talk about animal babies. People are considered infants from the moment of birth until approximately one year old, an age when many babies are starting to walk and talk. At this point, they're commonly called toddlers instead of infants. The Latin root is infantem, which as a noun means "babe in arms," and as an adjective "unable to speak."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

infant infants

Now her Reddit comment history is full of replies to posts about infant loss and avoidant partners, offering advice, support, and stories of her own experience.

From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026

I came to this country as an infant because my father served in the U.S.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

At infant school, he started using Eye Gaze - which tracks a user's eye movements so they can navigate a screen.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

From all over the world, the diaspora has worked to send medicine, diapers and infant formula to Venezuela, while posting rescue pleas on social media.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Mama held Akira as if he were an infant, his hands around her neck the way he liked to do when Mama felt like babying him.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Since 2020, the state Department of Public Health has received 11 reports of infants under 1 year of age with measles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Like the spine, the human pelvis must balance two competing demands: efficient bipedal walking and birthing large-brained infants.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Parents trust Amazon because we take customers' safety incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes to babies and infants," they said.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Americans have largely heard about the famous French creche system of public daycares, but the French government also subsidizes the kind of one-on-one at-home care that many parents of infants prefer.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

I’d seen the adults in the enclosure play that way with their infants, lifting them into the air with their feet and holding on to their arms as the babies whizzed around.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Related Words

• child
• kid
• newborn
• toddler