baby

A human baby

A baby monkey

A baby elephant (sometimes called a calf)

From Middle English babee, babi (“baby”), from babe (“babe, baby”), equivalent to babe +‎ -y/-ie (“endearing and diminutive suffix”).

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: bā'bē, IPA^(key): /ˈbeɪbi/

• Audio (RP)

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• Audio (GA)

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• Audio

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• Rhymes: -eɪbi

baby (plural babies)

1. A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.
   • 2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in the Guardian‎:

     In that film, I often hid my head in my hands, unable to watch scenes about dead babies and diving into gruesome lavatories.

2. Any very young animal, especially a vertebrate; many species have specific names for their babies, such as kittens for the babies of cats, puppies for the babies of dogs, and chicks for the babies of birds. See Category:Baby animals for more.
3. Unborn young; a fetus.

   When is your baby due?

4. A person who is immature or infantile.

   Stand up for yourself - don't be such a baby!

5. Term of endearment for a girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse.
6. (informal) A form of address to a man or a woman considered to be attractive.

   Hey baby, what are you doing later?

7. A pet project or responsibility.
   • 1996, Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy, Folio Society 2015, p. 902:

     Sovnarkom was Lenin's baby, it was where he focused all his energies […].

8. The lastborn of a family.
9. An affectionate term for anything.

   See my new car here? I can't wait to take this baby for a drive.

10. (archaic) A small image of an infant; a doll.

• (young human being): babe, babby, babbie, infant, see also Thesaurus:baby
• (young animal): see Thesaurus:youngling
• (immature or infantile person): big baby
• (term of endearment): love, see also Thesaurus:sweetheart

• gamete, zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, fetus

baby (not comparable) (used only before the noun)

1. Of a child: very young; of the age when he or she would be termed a baby or infant.

   a baby boy

2. Of an animal: young.

   a baby elephant

3. Intended for babies.

   baby clothes

4. (of vegetables, etc.) Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).

When referring to a human baby (as per noun sense 1 above) the usual practice is to treat 'human' as the adjective and 'baby' as the noun.

• (very young, of a child): little

baby (third-person singular simple present babies, present participle babying, simple past and past participle babied)

1. (transitive) To coddle; to pamper somebody like an infant.
   • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, Chapter,

     […] though he tried to be gruff and mature, he yielded to her and was glad to be babied.

   • 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, "Friction,"

     Then the man effected measles and stayed off the job for six weeks, babying himself at home, though he lived just round the corner from my half-built house.

2. (transitive) To tend (something) with care; to be overly attentive to (something), fuss over.
   • 1967, "Mr. Mac and His Team," Time, 31 March, 1967,

     In the past 27 years, "Mr. Mac," as he is known to his 46,000 teammates, has built and babied his McDonnell Co. from nothing into a $1 billion-a-year corporation.

   • 1912, Linda Craig, interviewed by Theresa Forte, "Tree and Twig farm — a treasure chest of heirloom tomatoes," Welland Tribune, 25 May, 2012,

     I have grown them for years and although some years are better than others, I have always had loads of tomatoes by not babying them, going easy on the water, and fertilizing with compost in the planting hole.

Pages starting with "baby".

• babe

• child
• infant
• toddler

• Abby

Borrowed from English baby.

baby c (singular definite babyen, plural indefinite babyer)

1. A baby, an infant.
2. (slang) An attractive young female.

• spædbarn

Borrowed from English baby.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeːbi/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ba‧by

baby m (plural baby's or babies, diminutive baby'tje n)

1. baby (infant)

   Synonym: zuigeling

• babyboom
• babyface
• babyfoon
• babykleding
• babykleren
• babyluier
• babyshampoo

• beibi

• Hyphenation: ba‧by
• IPA^(key): /ˈbei̯bi/, [ˈbe̞i̯bi]
• (rare) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑby/, [ˈbɑby]

baby

1. baby (term of endearment)
2. baby (very young human)

This spelling should preferably be used in nominative only as it does not fit into any standard inflection scheme.

• (very young human) vauva
• (term of endearment) kulta

From English

• IPA^(key): /ba.bi/

baby m (plural babys)

1. table soccer, table football
2. baby, darling, sweetheart

• “baby” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

baby

1. baby

• bebe

baby m (invariable)

1. child, baby, neonate
2. a small shot of whisky
3. tripod for a film camera

baby (invariant)

1. For use by young children
2. Very young

• IPA^(key): [ˈbabɨ]

baby

1. genitive singular of baba
2. nominative plural of baba
3. accusative plural of baba

From English baby

baby m (definite singular babyen, indefinite plural babyer, definite plural babyene)

1. a baby

• spedbarn

• babymat
• babyolje

• “baby” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From English baby

baby m (definite singular babyen, indefinite plural babyar, definite plural babyane)

1. a baby

• spedbarn

• babymat
• babyolje

• “baby” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

baby m (plural babys)

1. baby