baby
[noun]
Synonyms:
- infant, babe, babe in arms, bairn (Scot.), child, newborn child
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- small, little, mini, miniature, minute, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee

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Contrasted words: control, discipline, restrain, abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, mistreat, oppress, neglect, overlook, slight
Related Idioms: babe in arms
Related Words: bambino, little one, toddler, tot, nursling, suckling, weanling, bratling, dry-nurse, wet-nurse, dote (on or upon), favor, gratify, please, satisfy

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English Thesaurus: baby, toddler, infant, little one, young, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ba‧by¹ S1 W1 /ˈbeɪbi/ noun (plural babies) [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: babe]

1. YOUNG CHILD a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
The baby is crying.
She gave birth to a baby on Thursday.
What do you think of your new baby sister? ⇒ test-tube baby

2. YOUNG ANIMAL a very young animal:
baby birds

3. VEGETABLE a type of vegetable which is grown to be much smaller than usual or is eaten before it has grown to its normal size:
baby carrots
baby sweetcorn

4. YOUNGEST a younger child in a family, often the youngest:
Clare is the baby of the family.

5. WOMAN spoken
a) used to address someone that you love:
Relax, baby – we’re on holiday.
b) not polite used to address a young woman that you do not know

6. SILLY PERSON someone, especially an older child, who is not behaving in a brave way:
Don’t be a baby!

7. RESPONSIBILITY something special that someone has developed or is responsible for:
Don’t ask me about the building contract – that’s Robert’s baby.

8. THING informal something, especially a piece of equipment or a machine, that you care about a lot:
This baby can reach speeds of 130 miles per hour.
⇒ throw the baby out with the bathwater at throw¹(37)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. baby² verb (past tense and past participle babied, present participle babying, third person singular babies) [transitive]
to be too kind to someone and look after them as if they were a baby

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

baby
noun
ADJ. new, newborn, tiny | low birthweight, small, tiny Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of producing a low birthweight baby. | big | full-term | pre-term, premature | stillborn | unborn | little, young | three-day-old, six-week-old, ten-month-old, etc. | beautiful, bonny, lovely | bouncing (informal), healthy, normal A bonny, bouncing baby, Freddie was her heart's desire and joy.
contented, good, perfect | colicky, crying, screaming | sleeping | growing He took an interest in the growing baby even before it was born.
bottle-fed, breast-fed | illegitimate | test-tube | abandoned, unwanted | war (= born during the war)
VERB + BABY have I want to have a baby.
conceive, make babies (informal) Darling, I just want to stay with you and make babies!
carry, expect She's not sure yet how many babies she's carrying. She's expecting a baby in July.
give birth to, produce | deliver The baby was delivered by a midwife.
lose She lost her baby (= had a miscarriage) three months into her pregnancy.
care for, look after | feed | bottle-feed | breastfeed, nurse | burp The baby needed burping after every bottle.
wean You can start weaning your baby when it's four months old.
change You should change your baby about six times a day.
bath | comfort, cradle, cuddle, hold, pick up, rock, take She rocked the baby to sleep in her arms. Could you take the baby? I need to bring in the washing.
swaddle | play with | adopt They would like to adopt a newborn baby.
have adopted, put up for adoption She decided to put her baby up for adoption.
abandon | sleep like He was so tired after all his exertions, he slept like a baby.
BABY + VERB be due The baby is due in October.
arrive, be born Their first baby arrived exactly nine months after the wedding.
bawl, cry, scream | babble, coo The baby cooed happily on the rug.
be sick, dribble, drool Babies drool a lot when they are teething. | be teething | crawl, sit up, take his/her first steps, toddle, walk | kick, move I could feel the baby moving inside me.
sleep
BABY + NOUN boy, girl | brother, daughter, sister, son | bird, rabbit, etc. | clothes | food | buggy, carrier | alarm, monitor | bath | talk I didn't use baby talk with my children, but used proper words right from the start.
unit the hospital's special care baby unit
boom (= a period when many more babies are born than usual)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

baby

a baby is born
Let me know as soon as the baby is born.
have a baby/give birth to a baby
She had the baby at home.
Sue gave birth to a baby boy.
be expecting a baby (=be pregnant)
My wife’s expecting a baby.
a baby is due (=is expected to be born)
When is your baby due?
lose a baby (=have a baby that dies when it is born too soon)
She was three months pregnant when she lost the baby.
deliver a baby (=help a woman to give birth to a baby)
Usually your baby will be delivered by a midwife.
abandon a baby (=leave your baby somewhere because you do not want it)
A disturbing number of babies are abandoned by their mothers.
feed a baby
If your baby cries, she may want feeding.
breast-feed a baby
63% of new mothers breast-feed their babies.
change a baby (=change its nappy)
Could you change the baby for me?
a newborn baby
There’s plenty of help and advice for people with newborn babies.
an unborn baby (=not yet born)
Drinking alcohol is bad for your unborn baby.
a premature baby (=born before the normal time)
Lesley’s baby was three weeks premature.
an abandoned baby (=left somewhere by a mother who does not want it)
The abandoned baby was found under a hedge.
an illegitimate baby (=born to an unmarried mother)
The number of illegitimate babies is rising.
an unwanted baby
Unwanted babies were frequently abandoned in the streets.
a contented baby
Danielle was a lovely contented baby.
a baby boy/girl
She’s just had a lovely healthy baby girl.
a baby son/daughter/brother/sister
We’d like a baby brother or sister for Ben.
baby clothes/food

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

baby
noun
DUBIOUS: Sitting in the next seat was a young woman who was having a baby.
GOOD: Sitting in the next seat was a young woman who was expecting a baby.

Usage Note:
have a baby = give birth to a baby: 'She's worried about having the baby at home in case there are complications.'
be expecting a baby = be pregnant: 'Janet is expecting another baby.'
Note that be having a baby can be used to mean 'be pregnant' but this should be avoided when there is a danger of confusion.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
young the babies of an animal or bird:
Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch.
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

young not old:
a young man of about 22
My dad died when I was young.
There are excellent facilities for young children.
Young people are often unable to get jobs.
small/little a small child is very young. Little sounds more informal than small, and is used especially in spoken English:
They have two small children.
We used to go camping a lot when the kids were little.
teenage [only before noun] between the ages of 13 and 19:
a group of teenage boys
They have three teenage children.
adolescent especially written at the age when you change from being a child into an adult – used especially when talking about the problems that young people have at this age:
Sudden mood changes are common in adolescent girls.
adolescent behaviour
juvenile /ˈdʒuːvənaɪl $ -nəl, -naɪl/ [only before noun] formal connected with young people who commit crime:
juvenile crime
a special prison for juvenile offenders
juvenile deliquents (=young people who commit crimes)
youthful especially written seeming young, or typical of someone who is young – often used about someone who is no longer young:
a youthful 55 year old
youthful enthusiasm
Andrew still has a slim youthful look about him.
The photograph showed a youthful, smiling Rose.
junior connected with sports played by young people rather than adults:
the junior championships
the junior champion
childhood the time when you are a child, especially a young child:
I had a wonderful childhood in the country.
childhood illnesses
girlhood/boyhood the time when you are a young girl or boy:
The two men had been friends in boyhood.
the transition from girlhood to womanhood
youth the time when you are young, especially between about 15 and 25 when you are no longer a child:
He was a great sportsman in his youth.
She revisited all the places where she had spent her youth.
adolescence the time when you are changing from being a child into an adult – used especially when you are talking about the problems people have at this age:
During adolescence, boys are often lacking in self-confidence.
infancy formal the time when you are a baby:
In the past, many more babies died in infancy.
baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

baby
ˈbeɪbɪ
See: war baby

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲