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baby talk
noun
1
a
: the consciously imperfect or altered speech used by adults in speaking to small children
b
: the syntactically imperfect speech or phonetically modified forms used by small children learning to talk
2
: oversimplified speech or writing
Examples of baby talk in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Interpretation isn’t baby talk but, rather, works for all audiences except children, theology professors, lapsed Mormons, and resolute cynics.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 20 Jan. 2024
Listen to Barker on One Life One Chance with Toby Morse below (baby talk comes at 1:16:09 mark).
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 1 Nov. 2023
His mother, Veronica Farrish, refused to let family members use baby talk with him.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023
Her language is a mixture of Vietnamese and baby talk and
maybe something of her own thrown in.
—Viet Thanh Nguyen, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for baby talk
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'baby talk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near baby talk
Cite this Entry
“Baby talk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baby%20talk. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
baby talk
noun1
: the speech used by very young children learning to talk
2
: speech like baby talk sometimes used by adults to speak to very young children
Medical Definition
baby talk
noun1
: the syntactically imperfect speech or phonetically modified forms used by small children learning to talk
2
: the consciously imperfect or altered speech often used by adults in speaking to small children
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