Meaning of baby in English

baby
noun [ C ]
us

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/ˈbeɪ.bi/ uk

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/ˈbeɪ.bi/
A1
a very young child, especially one that has not yet begun to walk or talk:
a newborn baby
a six-week-old baby
a baby boy
baby clothes
baby food
Sandra had a baby (= gave birth to it) on May 29 .
Owen is the baby (= the youngest person) of the family.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
a baby
  • babyShe is having a baby in the spring.
  • newbornNewborn babies are not able to focus their eyes fully for the first few weeks of life.
  • new babyBringing home a new baby can be a confusing time for parents.
  • bundle of joyCongratulations on bringing home your little bundle of joy!
  • neonateThe doctor headed up a study on perception in neonates.
  • infantInfants under two years of age who are traveling with an adult do not need to purchase a plane ticket if they are sitting on the adult's lap for the duration of the flight.
See more results »
 
Emma Kim/Cultura/GettyImages
A2
a very young animal:
a baby elephant/monkey
disapproving
an adult or especially an older child who is crying or behaving like a child:
It didn't hurt that much - don't be such a baby!
mainly US
a word you can use when you are talking to someone you love such as your wife, husband, partner, etc.:
Oh baby, I love you.
 baby carrot, sweetcorn, etc.
a type of vegetable that is specially grown to stay small
 
Roger Dixon/Dorling Kindersley/GettyImages
informal
Someone's baby is something that they have a special interest in and responsibility for:
I don't know much about the project - it's Philip's baby.
More examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Children & babies
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
baby
verb [ T ]
  informal
us

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/ˈbeɪ.bi/ uk

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/ˈbeɪ.bi/
to treat an older child as if he or she were a much younger child:
The boys were now ten and twelve and didn't want their mother to baby them.
Synonyms
coddle (PROTECT)
cosset
indulge
mollycoddle informal mainly disapproving
pamper
spoil
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Defending and protecting
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of baby from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

baby | Intermediate English

baby
noun [ C ]
us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio
/ˈbeɪ·bi/
a very young child:
Sandra had a baby on May 29th.
My younger brother is the baby of the family.
Baby can be used to refer to anything young or smaller than usual:
baby corn/lima beans
disapproving Baby can also mean someone who is behaving childishly:
She complained like a baby about her boyfriend.
infml Baby is an affectionate way of addressing someone.
infml A baby can also be a project or job someone has a special interest in or responsibility for:
The new computer system is really Phil’s baby.
baby
verb [ T ]
us

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/ˈbeɪ·bi/
to treat an older person like a young child:
Some parents baby their children too much.
I like to be babied when I’m sick.
(Definition of baby from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of baby

baby
The cherry blossom special is slow-cooked pork belly with cherry glaze, baby potato and baby carrots.
From Washington Times
The candid photos show mom giving her baby boy as sweet kiss on the forehead she other.
From ABC News
The source said premature babies at the hospital were receiving much higher doses of radiation during procedures than what was typically recommended.
From NPR
And the rest of us, well, we can visit your baby's feed on our own terms.
From Gizmodo
They can be life-saving for women with distressed babies or difficult deliveries.
From The Atlantic
Shortly after birth, they compared the microbiomes in the babies that came out.
From NPR
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy may protect the unborn baby -- to a point.
From Los Angeles Times
When it comes to health, baby boomers said they're more likely than their parents' generation to take charge of their health, which isn't so surprising.
From CBS News
He laughed that they'd thought about putting a sign that said "this is our choice, not your will" on his wife's baby bump.
From NBCNews.com
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with baby

baby

These are words often used in combination with baby.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

abandoned baby
He shows her a ring that has been found with an abandoned baby and that he also recognizes as belonging to his master.
From the Cambridge English Corpus  
baby blue
Additionally, the senior class color is navy blue and the freshmen class color is baby blue.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
 
baby boy
She had died in childbirth, leaving her husband with a baby boy.
From the Cambridge English Corpus  
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with baby

Translations of baby

in Chinese (Traditional)
（尤指尚未學會走路或說話的）嬰兒，嬰孩, 幼畜, 幼獸…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
（尤指尚未学会走路或说话的）婴儿，婴孩, 动物幼崽, 孩子气的人…
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in Spanish
bebé, bebé [masculine], cría [feminine]…
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in Portuguese
bebê, bebê [masculine-feminine], nenê [masculine-feminine]…
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in more languages
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Arabic
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Italian
in Russian
赤ちゃん, 乳幼児…
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çok genç çocuk, çok genç hayvan yavrusu…
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bébé [masculine], bébé (+animal species), bébé…
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nadó, bebè…
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طِفْل, طِفْلة…
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nemluvně, mládě…
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baby-, spædbarns-, unge…
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bayi, anak…
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ทารก, ลูกอ่อนของสัตว์…
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trẻ nhỏ, con…
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dziecko, niemowlę, młode…
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kanak-kanak, anak…
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das Baby…
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baby [masculine], spedbarn [neuter], unge [masculine]…
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아기, 새끼…
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neonato, -a, bebè…
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младенец, малыш, детеныш…
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babel
babes in arms
babied
baboon
baby
baby blues
baby bond
baby boom
baby brain
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