Meanings
baa1
alternative obsolete bah
- onomatopoeicThe characteristic cry of a sheep or (broader) of a sheep or goat.
present singular third person baas · participle present baaing · participle past baaed · past baaed · alternative obsolete bah
- To make the characteristic cry of a sheep or (broader) of a sheep or goat.
Near-synonyms: blat, bleat (broad enough to include calves too)
3 more examples
He treble baas for help, but none can get.
The New Arcadia
a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLCThe lamb bunted several irresponsive objects - never its dam's udder - baaing listlessly.
1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 44The Ickabog bent down carefully, so that it wouldn't dislodge Daisy, and patted the thin sheep on the head. Instead of running away, it baaa-ed, quite unafraid, then returned to eating the thin, dry grass.
2020, J. K. Rowling, “Chapter 58: Hetty Hopkins”, in The Ickabog, Scholastic, →ISBN, page 242
baa2
BAA3
- abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Broad Agency Announcement.
- abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Business Associate Agreement: under HIPAA, a contract to protect personal health information.
Baa4
- An administrative atoll of the Maldives, officially named Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
baa · noun, interjection, verb
Compare German bäh, mäh; an imitative word. Notes on phonological development The pronunciation /bɑː/ is perhaps a development from earlier /bæː/ reflecting the shift of /æː/ to /ɑː/ during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compare Early Modern English bae, bea, both "to baa", respectively displaying the then current pronunciation of Middle English /aː/ as /æː/ and the failure of Middle English /ɛː/ to raise, and the replacement of mew with meow for another instance where recent sound change has made onomatopoeia opaque.
Full word history & related roots →baa · noun
- Arabicبَاء
- Arabicبَاء
- Englishbaa
Borrowed from Arabic بَاء (bāʔ).
More words from Arabic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans bê
- bêcry of sheep
Ancient Greek βῆ
- βῆ (bê)cry of sheep
Arabic مَأْمَأَة
- مَأْمَأَة (maʔmaʔa)bleating of sheep
Catalan bel, be
- belbleating of sheep
- becry of sheep
- beecry of sheep
- mècry of sheep
- belarto make the cry of sheep
Chinese Mandarin 發咩聲 /发咩声, 咩
- 發咩聲 /发咩声 (fā miē sheng)bleating of sheep
- 咩 (miē)cry of sheep
Czech bečení, bé
- bečeníbleating of sheep
- bécry of sheep
- bečetto make the cry of sheep
- mečetto make the cry of sheep
Danish mæh, mæ
- mæhcry of sheep
- mæcry of sheep
- brægeto make the cry of sheep
Dutch bè, blaten
- bèbleating of sheep
- blatento make the cry of sheep
Esperanto be, bei
- becry of sheep
- beito make the cry of sheep
Finnish mää, bää
- määbleating of sheep
- bääcry of sheep
- määcry of sheep
- määkiäto make the cry of sheep
French bêlement, bè
- bêlementbleating of sheep
- bècry of sheep
- bêcry of sheep
- bêlerto make the cry of sheep
German Blöken, bäh
- Blökenbleating of sheep
- bähcry of sheep
- mähcry of sheep
- blökento make the cry of sheep
- bähento make the cry of sheep
- mähento make the cry of sheep
Greek βέλασμα, μπε
- βέλασμα (vélasma)bleating of sheep
- μπε (be)cry of sheep
- βελάζω (velázo)to make the cry of sheep
Hawaiian heʻehe, māʻāʻā
- heʻehebleating of sheep
- māʻāʻābleating of sheep
- heʻehecry of sheep
Hungarian bee, béget
- beecry of sheep
- bégetto make the cry of sheep
Icelandic jarm, mee
- jarmbleating of sheep
- meecry of sheep
- jarmato make the cry of sheep
Italian belato, bè
- belatobleating of sheep
- bèbleating of sheep
- beècry of sheep
- belareto make the cry of sheep
Japanese 羊の鳴き声, メー
- 羊の鳴き声 (hitsuji no nakigoe)bleating of sheep
- メー (mē)cry of sheep
- （羊が）鳴く (hitsuji ga naku)to make the cry of sheep
Latin bee, bālō
- beecry of sheep
- bālōto make the cry of sheep
Norwegian bæ, bæ
- bæbleating of sheep
- bæcry of sheep
- breketo make the cry of sheep
Polish bek, beczenie
- bekbleating of sheep
- beczeniebleating of sheep
- becry of sheep
- beczećto make the cry of sheep
Portuguese balido, bé
- balidobleating of sheep
- bécry of sheep
- balirto make the cry of sheep
- balarto make the cry of sheep
Russian бле́яние, бэ-бэ
- бле́яние (bléjanije)bleating of sheep
- бэ-бэ (bɛ-bɛ)cry of sheep
- ме (me)cry of sheep
- бе (be)cry of sheep
- бле́ять (bléjatʹ)to make the cry of sheep
Scottish Gaelic mè
- mècry of sheep
Slovak bečať
- bečaťto make the cry of sheep
Spanish balido, be
- balidobleating of sheep
- bebleating of sheep
- balarto make the cry of sheep
Swedish bä, bräkande
- bäbleating of sheep
- bräkandebleating of sheep
- bäcry of sheep
- bräkato make the cry of sheep
Turkish me, meleme
- mebleating of sheep
- melemebleating of sheep
- mecry of sheep
- melemekto make the cry of sheep
Vietnamese be be
- be bebleating of sheep
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with baa
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
baa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baa
“baa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baa. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “baa,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baa.
Source: baa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.