babysit

verb

ba·​by·​sit ˈbā-bē-ˌsit How to pronounce babysit (audio)
babysat ˈbā-bē-ˌsat How to pronounce babysit (audio) ; babysitting

intransitive verb

: to care for children usually during a short absence of the parents
broadly : to give care
babysit for a neighbor's pets

transitive verb

: to babysit for
She babysits her grandchildren.
broadly : mind, tend
babysit house plants
police babysitting a witness
babysitter noun

Examples of babysit in a Sentence

She babysits their kids on Saturday nights.
Recent Examples on the Web Carly babysits for her aunt (OP's sister), who lives nearby with her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024 Bowen, after realizing that the $50,000 GPS unit can’t reach enough satellites from the safety of the shore to perform its high-detail mapping, instead sets it up on a deteriorating mud island with another professor to babysit it. Cassidy Randall, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2024 In the film, Giamatti plays a curmudgeonly teacher at a New England prep school who stays on campus during Christmas break to babysit the students who have nowhere to go for the holiday. Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024 Time heals all wedgies, but there’s a reason Kyle Shanahan didn’t babysit Christian McCaffrey back in the day. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2024 Shanahan’s dad coached Ed, and Shanahan’s sister would babysit young Christian. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024 There’s just no way to babysit for several hours and not need to navigate the stairs. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 Just as worryingly, regulators have missed that forcing humans to babysit incomplete systems introduces entirely new risks to public roads. Ed Niedermeyer, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2023 If one of my parents needed to step out for a moment, there was no need to quickly find a nanny or go through the hassle of strapping a toddler into a car seat, because if my aunt couldn't babysit there were two teenagers floating around with no real responsibilities. Tanikia Carpenter, Parents, 19 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'babysit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from babysitter

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of babysit was in 1944

Dictionary Entries Near babysit

Cite this Entry

“Babysit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/babysit. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

babysit

verb
ba·​by·​sit ˈbā-bē-ˌsit How to pronounce babysit (audio)
babysat -ˌsat How to pronounce babysit (audio) ; babysitting
: to care for children usually while the parents are away for a short time
babysitter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on babysit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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