infant

1 of 2

noun

in·​fant ˈin-fənt 

1

: a child in the first period of life

2

: a person who is not of full age : minor

infant

2 of 2

adjective

1

: intended for young children

infant clothes

2

: being in an early stage of development

an infant industry

3

: of, relating to, or being in infancy

Synonyms of infant

Noun

• child
• baby
• newborn
• toddler

Examples of infant in a Sentence

Noun

a study of health problems that can affect young infants

He showed us a picture of his infant daughter.

Adjective

She is an infant teacher.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That sounds precarious, and is, but once her infant son has popped out, talk about providing someone with a motivation to take on nature’s predators. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026

Plenty of old faces return for brief scenes while new faces play more pivotal roles (including Anthony Timpano as Jamie, an infant in the original series, and Vaughan Murrae as Kelly, the result of Lois’ series-finale pregnancy reveal). —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026

Adjective

For decades, research into RSV had been stymied by past failures, leaving no way to prevent the thousands of infant respiratory deaths that occur worldwide every year. —Richard Hughes Iv, STAT, 18 Feb. 2026

The narrative pairs her with Sister Ying, a detective investigating a series of infant corpse cases where bodies are discovered sealed in luxury apartment walls. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English enfaunt, from Anglo-French enfant, from Latin infant-, infans, from infant-, infans, adjective, incapable of speech, young, from in- + fant-, fans, present participle of fari to speak — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing infant

• infant mortality
• infant school
• sudden infant death syndrome

Kids Definition

infant

noun

in·​fant

ˈin-fənt

: a child in the first period of life

infant adjective

Medical Definition

infant

noun

in·​fant ˈin-fənt 

1

a

: a child in the first year of life : baby

b

: a child several years of age

2

: a person who is not of full age : minor

infant adjective

Legal Definition

infant

noun

in·​fant ˈin-fənt 

: a person who is not of the age of majority : minor compare adult