sitter
70
1.6
- noun
- /ˈsɪtər/
:
niñera
- I hired a sitter to take care of my children while I was at work.
- pay a sitter
They do boys slash girls nights on the same night to take maximum advantage of hiring a sitter.
- They do boys slash girls nights on the same night to take maximum advantage of hiring a sitter.
- We'll pay for the sitter, but we still donated some money to the mother from Houston to do something nice with her children.
Examples
-
Now, he must have had trouble finding a sitter because his children were off in a corner.
Fiction book (1991) -
Call a sitter!
-
Well, we can hire a sitter.
-
We'll pay for the sitter, but we still donated some money to the mother from Houston to do something nice with her children.
-
I don't have a sitter.
-
I'll leave Darryl with a sitter.
-
I just don't know how I'm gonna find a sitter.
-
Emily's with a new sitter tonight and, of course, I'm a basket case.
-
Pay the sitter.
-
The sitter's here.
Synonyms
234
1.0
A person who looks after children while their parents are away
9
1.2
A person parents pay to look after children when they are away
2
4.0
A person who looks after young children in their own home while the parents work
1
2.8
A person who looks after children in their own home while parents are at work
A person who looks after babies in their home while their parents work
A person who looks after babies in their own home while parents work
Compounds
1
2.8
A person who stays in and looks after a house while the owners are away, often without pay
A person who is arranged to care for children shortly before the care is needed
How Permanent
Surface Forms
Morphology
sitter = babysitter (semi-transparent) = sit + er
This usage is commonly a shortening or specialization from 'babysitter' (baby + sitter); the relation to 'sit' is present but somewhat conventionalized.
Etymology
Sitter comes from the verb sit plus -er meaning 'one who', and it is used like 'to sit with' someone. A helpful way to remember the childcare meaning is to think of a babysitter as someone who 'sits with' the children while the parents are away, so a sitter is a person paid to look after kids.