Definition of babble in English:

babble

verb

[no object]

1Talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or incomprehensible way.
‘they babbled on about their holiday’
- ‘My mother continued to babble on but I paid no attention.’
- ‘Stacey continued to babble on, totally naïve to the fact that she was causing so many eyes to focus on her.’
- ‘Krista continued to babble on about how one of her uncles had gone through the same thing and it all turned out just fine.’
- ‘She continued to babble on about their eternal bond as soul mates, and Robby knew he had to tell her the truth.’
- ‘Sherrie continued to babble on and it didn't take too long before Al realised too that he had been had.’
- ‘He continued to babble on about how it was all my fault, but I didn't pay much attention to him.’
- ‘Elaine did not seem to hear Lynette, as she continued to babble on about Sir Lancelot.’
- ‘Only the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his thoughts as she continued to babble on.’
- ‘Larry continued to babble on, but Guy stopped listening.’
- ‘All around her, the other children happily babbled away and adults occupied themselves with inexplicable activities.’
- ‘It's unfair to criticise here or to babble on about the facilities we have back home.’
- ‘Ten gazillion questions that I'd like to hear posed and answered, and they babble on about our ‘go-it-alone’ policy.’
- ‘They babble on about the supposed benefits of EU membership as if this referendum was about whether we should remain in the EU or withdraw from it.’
- ‘I babble on about style and plot, without admitting I had to re-read the first chapter three times to remind myself who George was.’
- ‘It's a short one but I'm sure I'll babble on long enough to make it an actual entry.’
- ‘How refreshing, she must have thought, as she babbled away like a four-year-old on the arm of her father.’
- ‘These people babble on about how the characters in the novel were more fully developed or how the original story line was more meaningful.’
- ‘Very few successful players babble on about how great they are.’
- ‘Scientists always love to babble on about their work, but Jennifer couldn't afford to draw attention.’
- ‘I pursed my lips together, willing myself not to babble on uselessly about what he'd been doing wrong.’
prattle, rattle on, gabble, chatter, jabber, twitter, go on, run on, prate, ramble, burble, blather, blether, blither, maunder, drivel, patter, yap, jibber-jabber
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1. 1.1reporting verb Utter something rapidly and incoherently.
  with direct speech ‘I gasped and stared and babbled, 'Look at this!'’
  with direct speech ‘I gasped and stared and babbled, “Look at this!”’
  ‘The young man's brows furrowed, babbling something incoherently from under his father's firm hand.’
  ‘He was right; I did feel better after babbling my incoherent misgivings.’
  ‘They all babbled their apologies to him, terrified.’
  ‘So my mother babbled some more nonsensical apologies, paid the bill, tipped the waiter, gave me a quick hug, and went dashing off.’
  ‘Cheeks burning red she babbled apologies, quickly trying to clean the tunic and the table and the floor with her shirt.’
  ‘He began to babble nonsense as they took him to the shore and then up to the main cabin where the nurse's office was.’
  ‘Replacing her glasses and babbling apologies, Aimee scooped up her three sci-fi books and bumped into the girl again.’
  ‘Cassia squeaked and scrambled to his feet, hugging the other boy and babbling apologies.’
  ‘‘I can explain,’ he began babbling, and he stuttered constantly as he tried to explain something that I already knew.’
  ‘I babbled something - I was obviously clueless but well-meaning - and he was gracious, then he left.’
  ‘I babbled some nonsense about making an authentic Indian meal, regretting my purchase as she rang it up.’
  ‘I caught up to him and they babbled their little boy babble as I introduced myself to Tommy's mom.’
  ‘And then he looked into my eyes and babbled something, and pointed with his little fingers at my pipes.’
  ‘He babbled nonsense for about fifteen minutes then had an intense allergic reaction.’
  ‘No, you babble thank you 18 times, swoop under his outstretched arm and bang your forehead on the doorframe.’
  ‘Parents who babble nonsense to babies may be helping them learn to speak, according to new research.’
  ‘Didn't he babble the same gobbledygook a decade ago when he vied for the job?’
  ‘‘Ben always leaves it in there on the windowsill,’ I babbled.’
  ‘‘If you're planning something,’ I babbled out.’
  ‘She babbled out, ‘Is there… is there anything I can do for you m'lord Randel?’’
  delirious, raving, babbling, hysterical, irrational
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2. 1.2Reveal something secret or confidential by talking carelessly.
  ‘he babbled to another convict while he was in jail’
  ‘Had he, on their command, babbled out everything he knew?’
  ‘It was later in the night when his father finally arrived home as his youngest sister babbled out all to his father.’
  ‘When the Wisconsin politicians babbled to the Press, the Press rushed back to the senator for confirmation.’
  ‘And I'll bet you babbled to the cops about how your brother didn't really mean to do anything wrong.’
  blurt out, blab, reveal, divulge, let slip, let out, give away, come out with
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2(of a flowing water) make a continuous murmuring sound.
‘the shallow river babbled over smooth rocks’
- ‘Not far away was a clear, babbling stream of fresh water from the top of the mountain.’
- ‘On the soundproofed pastel wall, a huge TV screen showed a stream babbling over rocks.’
- ‘Trees, distant mountains, slowly rolling hills of soft grass, flowers, somewhere behind her a river or brook babbling: it was the way she had always envisioned heaven.’
- ‘And that sickly-sweet music with birds chirping, water babbling, and the rush of wheat fields in the wind seemed brain numbing.’
- ‘The idea of a little town nestling between two babbling brooks is a beautiful one and we owe it to ourselves to keep it as beautiful as possible.’
- ‘The brook beside the castle was babbling peacefully as a warm breeze swept over the meadow.’
- ‘They walked through some tall trees and ended up by a small babbling river, there was a small fort there, and a tent pitched outside.’
- ‘It was like even the river below us had stopped babbling.’
- ‘After the Europeans came to this island, they wiped out countless babbling brooks, streams and rivers that flowed throughout the island down from the mountain.’
- ‘There were tall trees, wide-open plains, meandering streams, babbling brooks, rolling hills, and smart, intelligent people.’
- ‘Iona's laugh, a sound like a babbling brook on a summer afternoon, broke the spell.’
- ‘These included waves, the song of whales, the wind through the trees, a babbling stream, rain and even the sound of grass rustling across the plains.’
- ‘It's a picture postcard scene, by a babbling stream in Tasmania's midlands - the heart of that state's grassland country.’
- ‘The little bridges that cross the babbling stream at the entrance to his home brought joy into his heart every time he crossed it, as this was the place he loved.’
- ‘In fact, I tend to favour country pubs with beer gardens next to babbling streams.’
- ‘There were small huts built up in the trees and straight through the middle ran a babbling stream, with a waterfall at the far side of the clearing.’
- ‘Cooling a bottle of white wine in a babbling brook at your picnic site is a lovely thought, but in reality it is not a sensible one.’
- ‘Soon, the babbling water lulled him into a wakeful sleep.’
- ‘Ronan noticed Midori turning her head every so often as they walked, to admire a fine flower or to watch the babbling stream and the fish splashing in it.’
- ‘We never have, and almost certainly never will have, that idyllic outdoor meal on a checked rug by a babbling stream, because as they say, it's all in the mind.’
burble, murmur, gurgle, purl, tinkle
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noun

1i mass noun The sound of people talking simultaneously.
‘the answers were difficult to hear amid the babble of conversation’
in singular ‘a confused babble of voices’
- ‘I'm picking these sounds out from the babble of the past, a raucous market fair of a landscape that stretches out as far as the eye can see.’
- ‘From an uncertain corner in another part of the pub, there was a babble of bedlam.’
- ‘The gorgeous changing colors of the high-tech map were accompanied by sound: the babble of many meteorologists overlaid by the powerful roar of wind and waves.’
- ‘This is the babble of many tongues as they are simultaneously translated in the glass towers in the stone city.’
- ‘Instead, American viewers will have to strain to make out whole words from the constant babble of wild sound and West Indian accents.’
- ‘If you set a tape recorder running at a noisy party you would most likely hear something resembling a confused babble.’
- ‘This mimics the tone of real speech but sounds like the incomprehensible babble of those claymation shows on the ABC in the 1980s.’
- ‘After a dozen dizzying turns past stalls crammed with fruit, meat, shoes and screws, Zuniga hears a sharp animal screech above the babble of buying and selling.’
- ‘There was a moment of silence from the others, then a babble that sounded like a catfight in a blender, some directing questions and demands at me in a torrent I couldn't follow.’
- ‘I banged the book shut and silenced the babble of my inner teachers.’
- ‘Then a babble of talk and tension-relieving laughter breaks out.’
- ‘Sitting outside the bar there is a light babble of a foreign tongue trilling off the tongues of groups of people enjoying leisurely drinks.’
- ‘When I went down to visit her we spoke in the babble that sounded to other people like a language.’
- ‘There was a rising babble of ‘ews’, and other sounds of sympathy and disgust.’
- ‘In the background he could hear the voices of the passengers asking the same question in a babble of noise.’
- ‘I was enthusing to an old friend about this vibrant new Edinburgh I'd found - the packed cafe terraces, the babble of foreign tongues, the cosmopolitan atmosphere.’
- ‘This was what the crowd had come for and every time Caucau received the ball after that there was a babble of anticipation.’
- ‘Fay ably expresses the feelings of many as they try to decipher the babble of words coming from the religious sector following the tsunami.’
- ‘If children have minds like sponges that can absorb other languages effortlessly, my own grey matter seems to be more of a clam, clamped shut and deaf to the multilingual babble around me.’
- ‘Just the babble of the 24-hour television newscasters.’
clamour, din, racket, confused noise, tumult, uproar, hubbub
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1. 1.1Foolish, excited, or confused talk.
  ‘her soft voice stopped his babble’
  ‘She stopped her excited babble and grabbed my wrist, dragging me off to math class.’
  ‘She does seem very quick to understand my situation from the tearful babble which comes out of me when I see her.’
  ‘He had merely stood there, tall and silent, piercing her with his incessant gaze, until her words had died to a senseless babble.’
  ‘Um, well if I'm decipher that pile of babble correctly… are you offering me a job?’
  ‘Sam can't even muster the chutzpah to blast back at a heckler with the bile we know he can spit, instead muttering some lame babble.’
  ‘Lilatte shoved the pillow over her head, trying to drown out Honey's endless babble.’
  ‘She had also said many other things, but to Mary it had seemed like insensible babble.’
  ‘As you can tell from my inane babble above, not much has been going on round these parts lately.’
  ‘She had continued her endless babble when I realised that she was looking at me some what expectantly.’
  ‘Dose's continuous incoherent diatribe evokes in turn the babble of a madman, the discourse of a preacher or the conversation of a child.’
  ‘Make you dream about him, his movements, his gregarious nature, his constant babble.’
  ‘He gets in touch with his Indian heritage and a wisdom drenched phrase bubbles through his drunken babble.’
  ‘That way, you'll have some idea of where I'm going with all my babble.’
  ‘I had been waiting a very long time for this talk with the retention officer, just so I could hear his inane babble and immediately shoot down his flimsy efforts.’
  ‘He took my face in his hands and kissed me, silencing my endless stream of mindless babble.’
  ‘Some said maybe he was Swedish, but his incomprehensible babble was little help in discovering his identity.’
  ‘She's makes my nonstop babble look like child's play.’
  ‘She pulled him off of the sofa and placed his arm around her shoulder once more, pulling him up the steps carefully, placidly listening to his babble.’
  ‘He'd be happy to tag along, and in return for putting up with his incessant babble, I would make him pay for gas, brew, and Taco Bell.’
  ‘Although she was odd, silently I knew I enjoyed her insensible babble.’
  prattle, gabble, chatter, jabber, prating, rambling, blather, blether
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2i mass noun The continuous murmuring sound of flowing water.
‘the babble of a brook’
- ‘The sounds coming from the workshops combine with the babble of the stream to create an authentic atmosphere of the settlement of old.’
- ‘In the silence of the grove, she heard the pleasant babble of the stream, except that it was no longer a quiet sloshing.’
- ‘In plants, a babble of water and small molecules flows through the plasmodesmata between cells.’
- ‘The catacombs, and the lovingly tended graves within, have embalmed the lives and loves of centuries past in a deathly stillness, broken only by the babble of a passing brook.’
- ‘The pervasive pink petals of the cherry blossom trees flutter to the ground like the soft powder of a mountain peak, while the babble of the bubbling brook pervades the air.’
- ‘Today however, the high pitched beep beep of a truck in reverse, unloading lumber for a new house, could be heard over the babble of the stream.’
- ‘From up stream came the babble of the brook like dainty laughter.’
- ‘In fact, I don't think he even heard me, although he was barely 20 yards away and there was no other sound but the babble of the beck.’
babble, burble, purl, lap
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Origin

Middle English from Middle Low German babbelen, or an independent English formation, as a frequentative based on the repeated syllable ba, typical of a child's early speech.

Pronunciation

babble

/ˈbab(ə)l/