babble

American  

[bab-uhl] / ˈbæb əl /

verb (used without object)

babbled, babbling

1. to utter sounds or words imperfectly, indistinctly, or without meaning.

2. to talk idly, irrationally, excessively, or foolishly; chatter or prattle.

   Synonyms:

   blather, drivel, gabble, chitchat

3. to make a continuous, murmuring sound.

   Synonyms:

   burble, gurgle, murmur

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verb (used with object)

babbled, babbling

1. to utter in an incoherent, foolish, or meaningless fashion.

2. to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly.

   to babble a secret.

noun

1. inarticulate or imperfect speech.

2. foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.

3. a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.

4. babbling.

5. Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels.

babble British  

/ ˈbæbəl /

verb

1. to utter (words, sounds, etc) in an incoherent or indistinct jumble

2. (intr) to talk foolishly, incessantly, or irrelevantly

3. (tr) to disclose (secrets, confidences, etc) carelessly or impulsively

4. (intr) (of streams, birds, etc) to make a low murmuring or bubbling sound

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noun

1. incoherent or foolish speech; chatter

2. a murmuring or bubbling sound

Other Word Forms

• babblement noun
• babbling noun
• outbabble verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of babble

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelen; cognate with Old Norse babbla, Dutch babbelen, German pappelen

Example Sentences

The mogul ended up apologizing for that babble, calling it the “dumbest post I’ve ever done.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

Above us swallows dart through the air, Graeme takes a picture of a damsel fly and the brook to our side continues to babble.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2024

They communicate using sounds that create distinct ambient noise in the colony -- like the babble of voices at a lively party.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2024

Only hours later, when I began to babble incoherently, did my OB realize that the doctor in question had missed my epidural space.

From Slate • Aug. 7, 2023

The doors have only just shut behind us when we're engulfed by the prep teams, who are nearly unintelligible as they babble out praise.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• blubber
• burble
• mumble
• murmur
• mutter