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PlainSpell

baby

/ˈbeɪ.bi/noun, adjective, verb

baby is spelled B-A-B-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 182 times per million words in written English, the 556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, baby means “A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of baby is babies.

How many letters and syllables are in baby?

Letters4: B-A-B-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing182 times per million words; the 556th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is baby?

Baby appears 182 times per million words in written English, the 556th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce baby?

  • US /ˈbeɪ.bi/
  • British /ˈbɛj.bɪj/
  • Australia /ˈbæɪ.bi/

Baby has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-baby.ogg, En-a_baby.oga, En-uk-baby.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with baby

Also written: babby, bby.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of baby

  • babies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • babier comparative
  • babyer comparative
  • baby-er comparative
  • babiest superlative
  • babyest superlative
  • baby-est superlative
  • babying participle, present
  • babied participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does baby mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.

  2. 2

    A very young human, even if not yet born.

    When is your baby due?

  3. 3

    Any very young animal, especially a vertebrate; many species have specific names for their babies, such as kittens for the babies of cats, puppies for the babies of dogs, and chicks for the babies of birds. See :Category:Baby animals for more.

  4. 4

    A person who is immature, infantile, or feeble.

    Stand up for yourself – don't be such a baby!

  5. 5

    A person who is new to or inexperienced in something.

    I only qualified as an architect this summer, so I'm still a baby.

  6. 6

    The lastborn of a family; the youngest sibling, irrespective of age.

    Adam is the baby of the family.

  7. 7

    A person's romantic partner; a term of endearment used to refer to or address e.g. one's girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse.

    Too busy thinking about my baby, and I ain't got time for nothing else.

  8. 8

    informalA form of address to a person considered to be attractive.

    Hey baby, what are you doing later?

adjective

  1. 1

    Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).

  2. 2

    Newest (overall, or in some group or state); most inexperienced.

  3. 3

    Like or pertaining to a baby, in size or youth; small, young.

verb

  1. 1

    To coddle; to pamper somebody like an infant.

  2. 2

    To tend (something) with care; to be overly attentive to (something), fuss over.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate baby?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of baby: bb.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Baby in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbébé, nourrisson (very young human being – see also child), petit (young animal), chou (term of endearment – see also darling), choyer, dorloter (to coddle; to pamper somebody like an infant)
GermanBaby, Säugling, Kleinkind (very young human being – see also child), Junges (young animal), Schatz (term of endearment – see also darling)
Portuguesebebé, bebê, neném (very young human being – see also child), filhote (young animal), criancinha (immature or infantile person), docinho (form of address to a man or a woman considered…)
Spanishbebé, nene, bebe, guagua, bebo, chichí (very young human being – see also child)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does baby come from?

From Middle English baby, babie (“baby”), a diminutive form of babe (“babe, baby”), equivalent to babe + -y/-ie (“endearing and diminutive suffix”). Perhaps ultimately imitative of baby talk (compare babble).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after baby