English▸ noun
(plural babies)
1 a very young child:
his wife's just had a baby
[as modifier] a baby girl.
▪ a very young animal:
bats only have one baby a year
[as modifier] baby rabbits.
▪ the youngest member of a family or group:
Clara was the baby of the family.
▪ a timid or childish person:
‘Don't be such a baby!’ she said witheringly.
▪ (one's baby) informal one's particular responsibility or concern:
‘This is your baby, Gerry,’ she said, handing him the brief.
2 informal a lover or spouse (often as a form of address):
my baby left me for another guy.
▪ a thing regarded with affection or familiarity:
this baby can reach speeds of 120 mph.
▸ adjective [attributive] comparatively small or immature of its kind:
a baby version of the Oxford Movement.
▪ (of vegetables) picked before reaching their usual size:
baby carrots.
▸ verb
( babies, babying, babied)
[with object] treat (someone) as a baby; pamper or be overprotective towards: her aunt babied her and fussed over her clothes.
– ORIGIN late Middle English: probably imitative of an infant's first attempts at speech.