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to baby

to baby

30 6.0
To treat someone with too much care and make things too easy for them
  • verb
  • /ˈbeɪbi/
  • Informal
translation icon : mimar
  • If she started by babying Jackie, the day was going to be a disaster.
  • stop babying
  • want to baby
  • get babied

Examples

  • It's important not to baby him too much, or he won't learn to be independent.

  • And, you know, I feel like we baby people a little too, too much.

  • And there have been times when I thought both she and Janet baby him too much.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I'm trying to make him a man, but you keep babying him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The nuns have been babying you more than you have any right to.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Look, I'm tired of being babied and sheltered.

  • She realized that by constantly babying her daughter, she was hindering her growth.

  • He kept babying his younger brother, making it hard for him to face challenges on his own.

Synonyms

to spoil
vsto baby
70 3.7

To give a child too many gifts or freedoms, causing bad behavior

is mainly about removing effort and making life too easy for someone
to pamper
vsto baby
42 3.7

To give someone too much care and special treatment

specifically stresses making things unduly easy rather than mere extra attention
to indulge
vsto baby
39 4.1

To let someone have whatever they want, often too much

is more about giving extra care and making things too easy
to coddle
vsto baby
37 6.4

Treat someone with too much care so they become less independent

leans toward making tasks undemanding and life too simple for someone
to baby up
vsto baby
  • Informal
6 8.8

To treat someone with too much care so they do not learn to help themselves

is centered on removing difficulty and making daily tasks too simple
to spoil someone rotten
vsto baby
  • Informal
3 6.7

To give someone too much kindness and gifts so they expect special treatment

instead stresses over-care that makes tasks or life too effortless for them
to mollycoddle
vsto baby
  • Archaic
1 9.3

To give someone too much care so they become weak

focuses on easing life and giving too much attention instead
to cosset
vsto baby
1 9.1

To give someone too much care and protection so they do not face problems

focuses more on easing life and making tasks excessively simple
to cocker
vsto baby
  • UK
9.9

To give someone too much care or gifts so they do not learn to manage on their own

is more about making life too easy rather than immediate harm
to smother with love
vsto baby
  • Informal
7.0

To give someone so much care and affection that they feel overwhelmed

is broader, focusing on easing life and lowering challenges rather than affection
to featherbed
vsto baby
  • Archaic
8.6

To give someone too much comfort so they do not learn

focuses specifically on easing tasks and making life undemanding for them

Antonyms

100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

Idioms

To get rid of something valuable while removing something bad

baby Jesus
  • Informal
1 9.5

A joking way to show mock sadness or disapproval

1 9.1

Being the only person who must deal with a problem after others avoid it

1 9.9

Cause great sadness or disappointment, often as a joke

to hold the baby
  • Informal
1 8.8

To have the only responsibility for a hard problem when others avoid it

1 8.1

To give each side part of what they want so both feel happy

9.9

A playful reason to buy something new

9.9

To leave quickly in a playful way

Phrasal Verbs

to baby up
  • Informal
6 8.8

To treat someone with too much care so they do not learn to help themselves

Compounds

81 1.0

A very young male child

63 3.5

A person born between 1946 and 1964 who grew up after World War II

big baby
  • Offensive
28 5.0

A person who acts like a child by being very sensitive or complaining

14 1.2

A tooth that children have before their adult teeth grow

baby mama
  • Slang
12 8.2

A mother of a man's child who is often not married or living with him

12 3.3

A sudden large increase in births

11 1.0

A very young bird without enough feathers to fly or leave the nest

baby-killer
  • Offensive
11 9.9

An insulting name for a person who kills or is accused of killing babies

9 1.2

A person parents pay to look after children when they are away

8 1.4

A small cart with four wheels that you push to carry a baby who is lying down or sitting

7 3.5

A face that makes someone look younger and more innocent than they are

7 1.0

A soft, fine powder put on a baby's skin to keep it dry and comfortable

6 1.0

A gentle oil that keeps a baby's skin soft

People in the United States born between 1946 and 1964 when birth rates rose after World War II

A baby who is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy

4 4.8

A small grand piano that fits in small rooms

3 1.0

A small soft shoe for a baby that lets the feet move

3 5.8

A soft, simple way adults speak to infants to show affection

test-tube baby
  • Informal
3 4.2

A baby that doctors make from an egg and sperm outside the mother's body and put in her womb

2 1.0

A small vehicle with four wheels that an adult pushes to carry a baby

baby doctor
  • Informal
2 3.4

A doctor who cares for babies and young children

baby fever
  • Informal
1 6.8

A strong sudden wish to have a baby

A small piano with a curved lid like a large piano that fits in a home

1 6.0

A child born during a war, often because a parent was a soldier

1 6.7

An infant born with blue skin because there is not enough oxygen in the blood

bush baby
  • South African
1 8.4

A small animal from Africa that is active at night with big eyes and a long tail

low-birth-weight baby
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A baby born weighing less than 5.5 pounds or 2,500 grams

1 2.9

A baby who cries a lot and is hard to calm

preterm baby
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy

1 3.9

Speech by a very young child using simple sounds and words

1 1.0

A small bed with high sides that keeps a baby safe from falling out

1 3.2

A frame on wheels that helps a baby learn to walk

food baby
  • Slang
1 7.4

A swollen stomach after eating a very large meal

1 9.9

A person who grows up with parents active in communist or socialist politics

tar baby
  • Slur
1 9.9

A problem that becomes worse the more you try to fix it

A small spiny tree from South America with deep red flowers

angel baby
  • Informal
4.2

A very cute baby who looks innocent

A baby who died and is remembered with love

baby dick
  • Offensive
9.9

An insulting word for someone with a very small penis or who acts like a child

9.9

A habit of preferring the first way you learn and resisting later changes

baby farmer
  • Archaic
9.9

A person in the past who took in babies for money and often neglected them

8.1

A person who has many children in a short time, often said as a joke

3.3

A person who looks after babies in their home while their parents work

baby papa
  • Slang
8.4

A man who is the father of a woman's child, often when they are not together

baby rose
  • Specialized
4.0

A small rose bush that grows strongly and makes many small flowers used for hedges and grafting

baby rabies
  • Slang
9.4

A strong, sudden wish to hold and care for babies

A small creeping plant with many tiny round leaves used as a houseplant or ground cover

A small plant with soft blue flowers with dark spots that grows in California

baby buster
  • Archaic
7.3

A person born after the baby boom when birth rates fell

nepotism baby
  • Offensive
9.2

A person who gets job opportunities because a family member helped them

9.9

An insulting word for a person who complains a lot and acts like a child

How Indulgent

to baby
  • Informal
30 6.0
to coddle
37 6.4
to pamper
42 3.7
to indulge
39 4.1

Surface Forms

baby infinitive
babied past
babied past participle
babying present participle
babies third person singular

Etymology

Baby A common idea is that baby comes from early 'baby talk' like baba or ba, the sounds you make for a small child. So, to baby someone is to treat them like a child, giving them extra care or making things too easy for them.