babysitting
noun
Simple meaning
The work of a baby sitter.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
baybeesihtingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbeɪbisɪtɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home
The work of a babysitter; the care of children in the temporary absence of their parents or guardians.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: The work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home
Used this way, babysitting is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Affectionate
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.