infant
Americannoun
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a child during the earliest period of their life, especially before they can walk; baby.
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Law. a person who is not of full age, especially one who has not reached the age of 18 years; a minor.
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a beginner, as in experience or learning; novice.
The new candidate is a political infant.
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anything in the first stage of existence or progress.
noun
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a child at the earliest stage of its life; baby
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law another word for minor
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a young schoolchild, usually under the age of seven
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a person who is beginning or inexperienced in an activity
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(modifier)
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of or relating to young children or infancy
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designed or intended for young children
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adjective
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in an early stage of development; nascent
an infant science or industry
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law of or relating to the legal status of infancy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing infant
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:
According to Jay, infant loss results in a form of disenfranchised grief.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
Kaur leaves behind three siblings and her parents, as well as her husband, whom she married in the UK, and infant.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
I came to this country as an infant because my father served in the U.S.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 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
My father died when I was an infant and Gran’s been very involved ever since.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
There have been at least two infants who have contracted measles so far this year in California — both of whom traveled internationally before falling ill.
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
Once procured, the infants were taken to a house in Pontianak where they were taken care of by hired nannies.
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
If music is an inborn and biological component, it should be found in infants, as well as in other animal species.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
