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Definition of baby in English:

baby

Pronunciation /ˈbābē/ /ˈbeɪbi/

See synonyms for baby

Translate baby into Spanish

nounbabies

  • 1A very young child, especially one newly or recently born.

    ‘his wife's just had a baby’
    • ‘a baby girl’
    • ‘The ultrasound probe is used mainly for head scanning of newborn babies and young children.’
    • ‘You know how to tell a boy baby from a girl baby without having to look at their genitalia?’
    • ‘The quadruplets, two boys and two girl babies, are also Niloufer Hospital's first.’
    • ‘There were old and young people, little boys and girls, teenagers and babies in prams.’
    • ‘We breed, we make babies, the babies are either girls or boys.’
    • ‘As they looked at their tiny newborn babies, these brave young survivors felt a powerful surge of protection.’
    • ‘Does smoking during pregnancy cause other problems in babies or young children?’
    • ‘The equipment and funds help save the lives of newborn babies and young children with congenital heart disease.’
    • ‘They now believe even younger babies, even tinier tots can be encouraged to give life a go.’
    • ‘You see babies and you see infants - tiny, tiny babies, some as young as a week old.’
    • ‘I decided to make up names for the family; pretend they were mine, the girl and the babies were my younger siblings, and the man and woman were my mother and father.’
    • ‘The father and mother held on to two babies while a young girl sat in front of them.’
    • ‘This age range is the hardest to find carers for as most people choose to provide foster care for babies and young children.’
    • ‘Because of the children and the difficulties of taking a tiny baby and a young toddler together up and down the stairs, she did not get out much.’
    • ‘The theme of ‘the four ages of dental health’ will explore problems faced by babies, children, teenagers and the elderly.’
    • ‘This is to prevent staff and visitors from accidentally referring to boy babies as girls, and vice versa.’
    • ‘Lydia didn't even want a baby; boy or girl, name or no name, what did it matter to her?’
    • ‘I suppose there may have been men, women, girls, boys, babies among them, but I saw no faces.’
    • ‘Everywhere I go now I see young women, girls really, pushing babies around in prams and babycarts.’
    • ‘And she opens up to showbiz tonight about being grandma to Gwyneth Paltrow's baby daughter.’
    infant, newborn, child, tot, little one
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1A young or newly born animal.
      ‘bats only have one baby a year’
      • ‘baby rabbits’
      • ‘The goal in this case is to return a Neanderthal baby to his family.’
      baby
      View synonyms
    2. 1.2The youngest member of a family or group.
      ‘Clara was the baby of the family’
      • ‘He was only 12 and the baby of the family as our other children have all grown up and left home.’
      • ‘Thérèse had been the adored baby of her family, instructed every day by two elder sisters who proceeded her into the Carmelite convent in Lisieux.’
      • ‘The Range Rover badge carries with it a lot of prestige and, while this is the baby of the family, it's still more desirable than anything from Japan.’
      • ‘Two have already left home and the baby in our family is 13.’
      • ‘Nesbitt was the baby of the family growing up in Antrim.’
      • ‘He's from a family of five tennis players, Tracy Austin, the baby of the family.’
      • ‘She's telling me to acknowledge the sister and she's also bringing up the baby of the family.’
      • ‘The baby of the family has a picture of Denis over his own bed at home.’
      • ‘Anne Marie has six brothers and three sisters and is the baby of the family.’
      • ‘His dad had remarried and Sykes was no longer the baby of the family: he now had a half-brother, John.’
      • ‘After years of being the baby of the family, I decided to meet my parents on neutral ground.’
      • ‘Sharon was the baby of the family.’
      • ‘Kevin hopes to have the baby of the family, the gallant John Joe, groomed for the next event.’
      • ‘Still, for the baby of the family, most people prefer the cleanliness and purity of white.’
      • ‘She is, after all, the baby of the family and she needs me the most.’
      • ‘I'm the baby of my family too and I can sympathize on the younger cousin deal.’
      • ‘Despite this, he still towers over me, and I feel like the baby of the family as he walks over and gives me a quick, awkward hug.’
      • ‘From what Jim told him, Hannah Dawson is the baby of the family.’
      • ‘Here, Washoe was no longer the baby of the family but was now living with chimpanzees a few years younger than herself.’
      • ‘This is what I get for being related to someone that is overly obsessed with what her peers think and is the baby of the family.’
      youngest, junior member
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    3. 1.3A timid or childish person.
      ‘“Don't be such a baby!” she said witheringly’
      • ‘Stop being such a baby.’
      • ‘Maybe I shouldn't be such a baby about things, but I am upset with my doctor's office right now.’
      weakling, namby-pamby, baby
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    4. 1.4one's babyinformal One's particular responsibility, achievement, or concern.
      • ‘“This is your baby, Gerry,” she said, handing him the brief’
      • ‘I believe it's your baby now but please do some more research.’
      • ‘It's my baby so I don't really have any time for any other bands.’
      • ‘Granted, it's his baby, and he can do what he wants with it, but he introduced it as an action/adventure entertainment show.’
      responsibility, business, affair, charge, duty, job, task, occupation
      View synonyms

  • 2informal A young woman or a person with whom one is having a romantic relationship (often as a form of address)

    • ‘my baby left me for another guy’
    • ‘baby, don't cry!’
    • ‘She was such a bright, vivacious person, my angel, my star, my baby.’
    • ‘As for telling us to grow up and grow some hair, I'd love to, baby, I really would.’
    • ‘I do love you baby.’
    darling, sweetheart, dearest, dear
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    1. 2.1A thing regarded with affection or familiarity.
      • ‘this baby can reach speeds of 140 mph’
      • ‘This is the only way you can purchase this baby at a discounted price.’
      • ‘That's not his everyday car, it's his baby.’
      • ‘I personally would not do it, simply because my laptop is my baby.’
      darling, sweetheart, dearest, dear
      View synonyms

adjective

attributive

  • 1Comparatively small or immature of its kind.

    ‘a baby grand piano’
    • ‘Not the display case where you can buy fake nose rings and baby tees and mini glowsticks to roll around on your tongue.’
    • ‘The shirt was a pink baby tee with a tiny pocket on the right side of my chest.’
    • ‘Looking for a used grand or baby grand piano?’
    • ‘We are the sole commercial outlet for the impressive GM6, which is a baby version of our popular GM2 gear motor.’
    miniature, mini, little, small, small-scale, scaled-down, toy, pocket, midget, dwarf, fun-size
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1(of vegetables) picked before reaching their usual size.
      ‘baby carrots’
      • ‘Courgettes are actually baby marrows, just picked earlier from the plant.’
      • ‘Any vegetable producer tan package baby carrots or cut-up celery in individual portions.’
      • ‘If you want to be veggie, go for the selection of baby vegetables with garlic flavoured tomato concentrate.’
      • ‘The fish had a deliciously crispy skin, moist flesh and was served with baby onions and carrots.’
      • ‘At this time of year garden centres have tray upon tray of baby vegetables all ready for planting out.’
      • ‘The spring veggies were another hit: baby carrots, asparagus, French greens and corn in light soy sauce.’
      • ‘The only disappointment is the baby potatoes that were obviously frozen.’
      • ‘The cheddar mash had no overtly cheesy taste but was rich and creamy and the dish was served with a thick onion gravy, dotted with baby onions.’
      • ‘Sometimes with deals like this, you are punished with minute servings, but the bowl was full of juicy baby mushrooms.’
      • ‘In a pan of boiling water cook the baby potatoes for 10-12 mins until cooked through.’
      • ‘Their food selection was fair and I eventually had a tuna steak with rice and baby carrots.’
      • ‘My son and I polished off the baby carrots and radishes before we even got home!’
      • ‘Good though it was, it was eclipsed by the fantastic tapering baby carrots on which it sat.’
      • ‘Next day I simply emptied the bag into the prepared pot, stirred to brown and then added two big sliced onions and a few diced baby carrots.’
      • ‘Top and tail the green beans, peel the baby onions or cut the spring onion into 2.5cm pieces.’
      • ‘Lunch could be salmon fillet with orange couscous and baby carrots.’
      • ‘And while I was there, I decided to pick up a few bags of pretzels and some of those baby carrots.’
      • ‘If you love to munch on baby carrots as snacks, dip them in reduced-fat dressing, she suggests.’
      • ‘The roasted baby onions added an extra sweet layer in an exceptionally moist duck for €22.95.’
      • ‘So fill in by serving baby carrots or sliced red or green peppers or cucumbers with light ranch dressing.’

transitive verbbabies, babying, babied

[with object]

  • Treat (someone) as a baby; pamper or be overprotective toward.

    ‘her aunt babied her and fussed over her clothes’
    • ‘So I've been babying her and giving her extra treats and stuff.’
    • ‘He accused her of babying him up, and treating him too nicely.’
    • ‘She becomes bold and refuses the will of her husband, and she repudiates babying her children.’
    • ‘‘Your mother always babied you,’ he continued.’
    • ‘However, he was tired of her always babying him.’
    • ‘She tells him he doesn't need to push himself, but he disagrees, and wishes that she would stop babying him.’
    • ‘I know you feel like we are babying you, but we are trying to protect you.’
    • ‘I don't plan on babying him at all, and I don't want him to feel embarrassed by my crazy antics.’
    • ‘I finally gave into Bryan's demands that I stop babying him and let him drive himself.’
    • ‘On the other hand, he was fourteen and didn't need his mother constantly babying him.’
    • ‘It's funny how we both thought that Libby would not like Brant babying her!’
    • ‘Did she want me to pull out her chair for her, or would she see that as babying her?’
    • ‘I would hate having to carry him after the fuss I made about not babying him anymore.’
    • ‘But maybe he shouldn't have babied her as he had.’
    • ‘Those middle school teachers babied us too much.’
    • ‘I had never babied him the way I babied our Baby Chad, but I've always watched over each of my brothers, just especially the younger ones.’
    • ‘He wouldn't get better if they babied him all the time.’
    • ‘Adair's father acted more like a father to Kathleen then he did to Mark and Persephone, and they all babied Kathleen ridiculously.’
    • ‘Brett still babied her and came home early from work to be with her.’
    • ‘This was because of the way Daddy babied me, as though I was still six years old.’
    pamper, mollycoddle, spoil, cosset, coddle, indulge, overindulge, pet, wait on someone hand and foot, overparent, nanny
    View synonyms

Phrases

    throw the baby out with the bathwater

    • Discard something valuable along with other things that are inessential or undesirable.

      ‘I feel I'm relatively representative of Canadians and I don't want the Conservatives throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’
      • ‘In this case, I don't see how you could ‘close the loophole’ without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’
      • ‘No right-thinking person wants to downplay this problem or its implications, but we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’
      • ‘Surely what we're doing is throwing the baby out with the bathwater if the failures of individuals lead to the rejection of a religious sense?’
      • ‘It is hoped that the reforms will achieve their purpose of improving the health system but will avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’

Origin

Late Middle English probably imitative of an infant's first attempts at speech.