baby

[ bey-bee ]

/ ˈbeɪ bi /

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See synonyms for: baby / babied / babies / babying on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ba·bies.

an infant or very young child.

a newborn or very young animal.

the youngest member of a family, group, etc.: I was the baby of the family for ten years, until my twin brothers were born.

an adult who behaves like a child; an immature, helpless, or fearful person: Just swallow the medicine—don't be such a baby!

a human fetus: The baby hasn’t arrived yet, but the nursery is ready.

Informal.

Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a girl or woman, especially an attractive one.
a person of whom one is deeply fond; sweetheart.
(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar address (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).
a man or boy; fellow: He's a tough baby to have to deal with.
an invention, creation, project, or the like that requires one's special attention or expertise or of which one is especially proud: His charitable foundation is his baby and it truly shows.
an object; thing: Those big babies can carry a lot of cargo.

adjective

of or suitable for a baby: baby clothes.

of or like a baby; infantile: baby skin.

treating babies: a baby doctor.

small; comparatively little: baby eggplants.

verb (used with object), ba·bied, ba·by·ing.

to treat like a young child; pamper: She still babies her son although he's nearly 24.

to handle or use with special care; treat gently.

OTHER WORDS FOR baby

9 indulge, spoil, humor, coddle.

See synonyms for baby on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of baby

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; see origin at babe, -y²

OTHER WORDS FROM baby

ba·by·hood, nounba·by·ish, adjectiveba·by·ish·ly, adverbba·by·ish·ness, noun

ba·by·like, adjective

Words nearby baby

babu, babul, Babur, babushka, Babuyan Islands, baby, baby beef, Baby Bell, baby blue, baby-blue-eyes, baby bond

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use baby in a sentence

“My dream is that every woman will be able to bring a baby into the world calmly and gently,” she told the Globe.
Marie Mongan, champion of hypnobirthing, dies at 86|Olesia Plokhii|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
My baby right now, the thing that I fight every single day for actively, is the Equal Rights Amendment, which is written by Alice Paul in the early 1900s.
Actress, Mother, Activist Alyssa Milano on Life as a Triple Threat|Esabelle Lee|February 11, 2021|Ozy
They are most famously made from bright blue fleece, or, in the company’s new “sherpa” line, baby blue and lilac, and they seem pretty flammable.
The Most Practical Outdoor Dining Outfit Is a Snuggie|Jaya Saxena|February 9, 2021|Eater
The new mom and dad created an online photo album, sent out invitations to everyone to join and view it, and they add many baby photos daily.
Miss Manners: Family member’s manners have gone to the dogs|Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin|February 9, 2021|Washington Post

At first, they look like a mobile above a baby’s crib or playful sculptures in the vein of Alexander Calder.
Baltimore exhibition of outsider art celebrates nature’s ‘excess’ with a wake-up call about pollution|Kelsey Ables|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
How about baby drama with little Abijean and the Wee Baby Seamus?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He has wild swings between trying not to care about Lana and the baby, and being completely obsessed by it.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The pale, baby-faced, red-cheeked rapper is furiously puffing away at a hastily-made blunt crammed with low-grade weed.
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three months ago, the two had a baby together and the Internet mostly just shrugged.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At present, not every woman is young enough, fertile enough, or healthy enough to have a baby using her own eggs or her own womb.
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women|Samantha Allen|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Aristide replaced the baby, and with a complicated arrangement of string fastened it securely to the seat.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
She had carried the baby over to Juana's and left her there, that she might be free to serve the Father's supper.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Keep closely covered with a bell glass and, in a few weeks, more or less, the baby Ferns will start to put in an appearance.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
It is a fearsome thing for a man to be left alone in the dead of night with a young baby.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The man with the automobile, the corn-cure, and the baby grew to be legendary in the villages of Provence.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for baby

baby

/ (ˈbeɪbɪ) /

noun plural -bies

a newborn or recently born child; infant
(as modifier)baby food

an unborn child; fetus

the youngest or smallest of a family or group

a newborn or recently born animal
(as modifier)baby rabbits

usually derogatory an immature person

slang a young woman or sweetheart: often used as a term of address expressing affection

a project of personal concern

be left holding the baby to be left with the responsibility

throw the baby out with the bath water to lose the essential element by indiscriminate rejection

adjective

(prenominal) comparatively small of its typea baby car

verb -bies, -bying or -bied (tr)

to treat with love and attention

to treat (someone) like a baby; pamper or overprotect

Derived forms of baby

babyhood, nounbabyish, adjective

Word Origin for baby

C14: probably childish reduplication; compare mama, papa 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with baby

baby

see throw out the baby with the bath water.

baby

OTHER WORDS FOR baby

Origin of baby

OTHER WORDS FROM baby

Words nearby baby

Words related to baby

How to use baby in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for baby

Derived forms of baby

Word Origin for baby

Other Idioms and Phrases with baby