lullaby

[luhl-uh-bahy]

noun

plural

lullabies 

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

2. any lulling song.

verb (used with object)

lullabied, lullabying 

1. to lull with or as with a lullaby.

lullaby

/ ˈlʌləˌbaɪ /

noun

1. a quiet song to lull a child to sleep

2. the music for such a song

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lullaby¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lullaby¹

C16: perhaps a blend of _lull + _goodbye

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A woman handing out party leaflets in downtown Buenos Aires says she rocked her babies to sleep not with lullabies, but the Peronist anthem “Viva Perón!”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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.

Read more on BBC

“Today I chase horizons wide. But your lullabies still echo inside.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The album wraps with the acoustic lullaby “Big Blue Eyes,” which Keys wrote as a tribute to his son.

Read more on Los Angeles Times