Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A very young child; an infant.
- noun An unborn child; a fetus.
- noun The youngest member of a family or group.
- noun A very young animal.
- noun An adult or young person who behaves in an infantile way.
- noun A lover or sweetheart.
- noun Sweetheart; dear. Used as a term of endearment.
- noun Slang An object of personal concern or interest.
- adjective Of or having to do with a baby.
- adjective Infantile or childish.
- adjective Small in comparison with others of the same kind.
- transitive verb To pamper like a baby; coddle. synonym: pamper.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To treat like a young child.
- noun An infant or young child of either sex; a babe.
- noun A doll.
- noun [Cf. E.
pupil , ⟨ L. pupilla, a girl, the pupil of the eye.] The minute reflection which a person sees of himself in the pupil of another's eye. - noun One who is like a baby; a childish person.
- noun To attempt to excuse excessive or feigned ignorance or stupidity on the ground of professed inexperience. [Colloquial in both uses.]
- Babyish; infantine; pertaining to an infant.
- Small, or comparatively small: as, a baby engine.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Pertaining to, or resembling, an infant; young or little.
- transitive verb To treat like a young child; to keep dependent; to humor; to fondle.
- noun An infant or young child of either sex; a babe.
- noun A small image of an infant; a doll.
- noun the minute reflection which one sees of one's self in the eyes of another.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A very
young human , particularly frombirth to a couple of years old or untilwalking is fully mastered. - noun Any very young
animal , especially avertebrate ; many species have specific names for their babies, such askittens for the babies ofcats ,puppies for the babies ofdogs , andchicks for the babies ofbirds . SeeCategory:Baby animals for more. - noun A person who is
immature orinfantile . - noun A term of
endearment for agirlfriend orboyfriend orspouse . - noun informal A form of
address to a man or a woman considered to beattractive . - noun A
pet project orresponsibility . - noun The
lastborn of afamily ; abenjamin . - noun An
affectionate term for anything. - adjective Of a child: very
young ; of the age when he or she would be termed a baby orinfant . - adjective Of an animal: young.
- adjective Intended for babies.
- adjective etc. Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).
- verb To
coddle .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women
- noun a project of personal concern to someone
- noun a very young mammal
- noun an unborn child; a human fetus
- noun an immature childish person
- noun the youngest member of a group (not necessarily young)
- verb treat with excessive indulgence
- noun a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word baby.
Examples
-
A simple baby seat can help the baby hold a good position while eating.
-
It’s a clump of cells that are not a baby until the woman has her *magic* thoughts and it turns into a *baby*.
-
I think the term baby brain could really be used to describe a wide variety of strange happenings—not just your lack of memory.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
I think the term baby brain could really be used to describe a wide variety of strange happenings—not just your lack of memory.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
Nope, in this case, the term baby brain refers to a state of mind, or lack thereof.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
Nope, in this case, the term baby brain refers to a state of mind, or lack thereof.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
Nope, in this case, the term baby brain refers to a state of mind, or lack thereof.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
I think the term baby brain could really be used to describe a wide variety of strange happenings—not just your lack of memory.
You’ll Lose the Baby Weight Dawn Meehan 2010
-
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The term baby daddy means a father who is not married to the mother of his child.
-
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The term baby daddy means a father who is not married to the mother of his child.
-
Media scholar Elizabeth Patton, in her book on the history of the home office, describes the circumstances of women who sewed garments or ran “baby farms,” meaning daycares, from their homes.
Home Spun — Real Life Tamara Kneese 2023
-
The nope baby is indeed a nepo baby (think a square-rectangle type of relationship), but one who has actively positioned themselves against their famous parent.
Meet the ‘nope baby’: the nepo baby who bites back, with teeth Kady Ruth Ashcraft 2024
-
You’re probably familiar with the nepo baby, the term du jour for the children of famous, wealthy and well-connected parents.
Meet the ‘nope baby’: the nepo baby who bites back, with teeth Kady Ruth Ashcraft 2024
ruzuzu commented on the word baby
"The minute reflection which a person sees of himself in the pupil of another's eye. There are many allusions to this in our older poets; hence such phrases as to look babies in one's eyes, used with regard to a lover." --Cent. Dict.
April 21, 2011