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baby
[ bey-bee ]
noun
- 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
verb (used with object)
- 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.
baby
/ ˈɪɪ /
noun
- 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
- 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 babyto be left with the responsibility
- throw the baby out with the bath waterto lose the essential element by indiscriminate rejection
adjective
- prenominal comparatively small of its type
a baby car
verb
- to treat with love and attention
- to treat (someone) like a baby; pamper or overprotect
Derived Forms
- ˈǴǻ, noun
- ˈ⾱, adjective
Other Word Forms
- ··Ǵǻ noun
- ·· adjective
- ···ly adverb
- ···ness noun
- ·· adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of baby1
Idioms and Phrases
see throw out the baby with the bath water .Example Sentences
Shedeur, who has been branded a 'nepo baby', says having Deion as his dad has been advantageous to his football career as he has learned to deal with expectation and pressure from a young age.
A Texas man was sentenced for smuggling six baby Mexican spider monkeys, too young to be separated from their mothers, into Southern California.
In their first trial, they were found guilty of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice by not reporting the death of their baby.
I’m sitting there listening — that’s the reason the intro’s so long, because I was just waiting — and finally I start singing, “You’re rock candy, baby — hard, sweet and sticky.”
A baby boy has been "born twice" after surgeons lifted his mother's womb out of her abdomen during a life-saving operation.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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