infant
Americannoun
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infants
plural
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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:
That the mute infant art form soon relied on fashions that excited the eye should come as no surprise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The moment when the couple’s infant child is taken from them by the authorities is devastating, each of them capturing a sense of helpless isolation from themselves, their community and each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
For the last 31 years, it has been headed by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was once known as a "boy king", after ascending to the throne as an infant.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A decade after the eruption, it’s possible that 4.8 billion people lack such freshwater, while the world’s population may have declined to 7.9 billion due to spikes in elderly and infant mortality.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Silent Sam was re-enacting the entire episode in pantomime for the benefit of Tim and Tess and some other infant creatures.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
After the state health department announced the first two deaths - both in infants - Kennedy, the top health official, took to social media to dispute at least one of the deaths.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
He is in the middle of a public spat with Pennsylvania officials, including Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, after the state health department reported two measles-associated deaths involving infants.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
On my boat, a packed, three-deck pleasure cruise otherwise populated by swimsuit-clad tourists and screaming infants, the story was much the same.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of 14 infants" in separate statements.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Between June 1955 and July 1958, 81 infants in the Swedish barrack came down with PCP and 24 died.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
