Meanings
babbling1
nounbabbling (countable and uncountable, plural babblings)
plural babblings
- uncountablea stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words
- countableuncountablesounds produced by infant during the babbling period
- countableuncountableIdle senseless talk; prattle.
- countableuncountableA confused murmur, as of a stream.
babbling2
adjectivebabbling (comparative more babbling, superlative most babbling)
comparative more babbling · superlative most babbling
- That babbles.
verb
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of babble
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
babbling · noun
- Middle Englishbablyng
- Englishbabbling
From Middle English bablyng, babelynge, equivalent to babble + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →babbling · adjective, verb
- Middle Englishbablyng
- Englishbabbling
From Middle English bablyng, babelynge, babelinde, equivalent to babble + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish jokeltelu, jokellus
- jokeltelua stage in child language acquisition
- jokellussounds produced by infant during the babbling period
- jokeltelusounds produced by infant during the babbling period
French balbutiement
- balbutiementsounds produced by infant during the babbling period
Polish gaworzenie (n)
- gaworzenie (n)sounds produced by infant during the babbling period
Spanish balbuceo
- balbuceosounds produced by infant during the babbling period
Swedish joller
- jollersounds produced by infant during the babbling period
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
babbling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babbling
MLA
“babbling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babbling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “babbling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babbling.
Source: babbling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.