baby
n. & v.
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 a very young child or infant, esp. one not yet able to walk.
2 an unduly childish person (is a baby about injections).
3 the youngest member of a family, team, etc.
4 (often attrib.) a a young or newly born animal. b a thing that is small of its kind (baby car; baby rose).
5 sl. a young woman; a sweetheart (often as a form of address).
6 sl. a person or thing regarded with affection or familiarity.
7 one's own responsibility, invention, concern, achievement, etc., regarded in a personal way.
--v.tr. (-ies, -ied)
1 treat like a baby.
2 pamper.
Phrases and idioms:
baby boom colloq. a temporary marked increase in the birthrate. baby boomer a person born during a baby boom, esp. after the war of 1939-45. baby-bouncer Brit. a frame supported by elastic or springs, into which a child is harnessed to exercise its limbs. Baby Buggy (pl. -ies) Brit. propr. a kind of child's collapsible pushchair. baby carriage US a pram. baby grand the smallest size of grand piano. baby-snatcher colloq.
1 a person who kidnaps babies.
2 = cradle-snatcher. baby-talk childish talk used by or to young children. baby-walker a wheeled frame in which a baby learns to walk. carry (or hold) the baby bear unwelcome responsibility. throw away the baby with the bath-water reject the essential with the inessential.
Derivatives:
babyhood n.
Etymology: ME, formed as BABE, -Y(2)

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