babysit

verb ba·by·sit \ ˈbā-bē-ˌsit \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

babysat play \-ˌsat\; 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

See babysit defined for English-language learners

See babysit defined for kids

Examples of babysit in a Sentence

She babysits their kids on Saturday nights.

Recent Examples of babysit from the Web

According to court records, Turner befriended two different families who had young children, including a toddler boy and an infant girl, and offered to babysit them.

— fernando alfonso iii, Houston Chronicle, "Children's hospital window washer who dressed as Spiderman to be jailed 105 years for child porn," 19 Apr. 2018
The office wrote in a press release that Turner befriended two families between October 2014 and May 2015 and offered to babysit their children, who were between one and 3-years-old at the time.

— scott berson, charlotteobserver, "He dressed like Spiderman to wash windows at children’s hospital. He had a sick purpose, court says | Charlotte Observer," 17 Apr. 2018
More Kentucky football: Dean Hood used to babysit Brad White's kids.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Quarterback run game will remain part of Kentucky offense, regardless of who wins the job," 4 Apr. 2018
Independently, Cousins’ mom and dad came in to help babysit Cooper and experience the moment, and that night McCartney got a call from Don Cousins.

— peter king, SI.com, "Inside Kirk Cousins’ Fast Free Agency: Parental Jerseys, Silent Auctions and a Match Made in Minnesota," 19 Mar. 2018
Partin is the one who called 911, identifying herself as someone who babysits kids.

— keith bierygolick, Cincinnati.com, "‘Breathe for daddy’: Father comforts dying child police say was abused by babysitter," 12 Mar. 2018
Mackenzie Hancsicsak, who plays 10-year-old Kate on the show, also weighed in and even offered to babysit Kim's kids.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "Kim Kardashian Is Finally Watching This Is Us And At Least One Cast Member Is Feeling It," 23 Feb. 2018
That didn't leave 5–6 hours to stay home and babysit my oven.

— alyse whitney, Bon Appetit, "How I Turned Slow-Roasted Short Ribs Into Pressure Cooker Short Ribs," 22 Feb. 2018
The Nassars continuously asked Stephens to babysit for their own three children.

— author: kyle swenson, Anchorage Daily News, "Abuse survivors confront gymnastics doctor: ‘I have been coming for you for a long time’," 17 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'babysit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of babysit

back-formation from babysitter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1944

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

BABYSIT Defined for English Language Learners

babysit

verb

: to take care of a child while the child's parents are away

BABYSIT Defined for Kids

babysit

verb ba·by·sit \ ˈbā-bē-ˌsit \

babysat \-ˌsat\; babysitting

: to care for a child while the child's parents are away

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