lullaby

American  

[luhl-uh-bahy] / ˈlʌl əˌbaɪ /

noun

• lullabies
  plural

1. a song used to lull a child to sleep; cradlesong.

2. any lulling song.

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verb (used with object)

lullabied, lullabying

1. to lull with or as with a lullaby.

lullaby British  

/ ˈlʌləˌbaɪ /

noun

1. a quiet song to lull a child to sleep

2. the music for such a song

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verb

1. (tr) to quiet or soothe with or as if with a lullaby

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lullabies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lullaby

1550–60; equivalent to lulla, lulla ( y ), interjection used in cradlesongs ( late Middle English lullai, lulli ) + -by, as in bye-bye

Explanation

If anyone has ever sung a song to you before bedtime, trying to lull you to sleep, you can call that song a lullaby. Lullabies are usually soft and soothing tunes — more like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" than AC/DC's "Back in Black." Many lullabies are folk tunes, and most of them are simple melodies with repetitive lyrics. You might be familiar with lullabies like "Hush, Little Baby," "Rockabye Baby," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," all of which have been sung for generations to sleepy children by their parents, grandparents, and babysitters. The word lullaby comes from the Middle English lullen, "to lull or soothe," and bye, as in "bye bye."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lullaby lullabies lullabied lullabying

Spoken in a colloquial mix of English and Armenian, the recording became the introduction to “Canopies,” a song with the hushed, rocking cadence of a lullaby that Korkejian wrote from her grandmother’s perspective.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Jepsen continued posting on Instagram about her maternity journey with fans, in January posting photos from the beach, from home and from fitting rooms as she spoke about finding a lullaby for her child-to-be.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

In one of the film’s most stirring moments, indicative of its quiet power, Duvall keeps his back to the camera as he sings a lullaby hymn only for himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

Cheerful illustrations accompanied by rhyming text enumerate little acts of love over the course of a day, from early-morning wake-ups to indulging requests for one more bedtime lullaby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

And like a lullaby, a tiny voice inside of me sings back: You do.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

Few artists can draw from both worlds, but they collided in her debut, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?—pillow-soft vocals and blown-out drums, singer-songwriter lullabies and sonic battering rams.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

Instead, the group work through a mix of lullabies, folk and gospel, switching from Spanish to Congolese to Swahili in rounds of four-part harmonies.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025

The songs are roughly divided into two groups: uptempo party tunes and get-ready-for-bed lullabies; in addition to Legend’s originals, the album has covers of “You Are My Sunshine” and Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2024

As children, we were sung lullabies, read bedtime stories.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2024

Father missed his mother he never knew; but Grandpa sang him lullabies, holding him close with rough but gentle hands.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Which leads to an obvious question: Are there bands that can’t be lullabied?

From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2017

The breeze lullabied the conker tree and the conker tree lullabied me.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

It is not often in life that one slips into dreamless slumber on soft grass, lullabied by the night-song of a south-wester in pine trees centuries old.

From With Botha in the Field by Eric Moore Ritchie

Into this they ran, and there they spent the night, serenaded by the roaring gale, and lullabied by the crash of falling spires and the groans of rending ice.

From The Giant of the North Pokings Round the Pole by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

The lullabying born-again crooner of the mid-2000s was initially far less interesting.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2015

Virginia Mayo was looking beautiful and Doris Day was lullabying.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2010

Meanwhile, platformed six feet above the orchestra, the Mothers were lullabying away at some of their "greatest hits," like Lumpy Gravy, Duke of Prunes and Who Needs the Peace Corps.

From Time Magazine Archive

She hauls the lot of them into her bed and heart, lullabying away their fears and wringing tears from the audience.

From Time Magazine Archive

We almost had Provincial Premiers lullabying to their Cabinets:   "Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye,   The Black Douglas shall not get ye."

From The Masques of Ottawa by Augustus Bridle