Meanings
present singular third person babysits · participle present babysitting · participle past babysat · past babysat · participle past uncommon babysitted · past uncommon babysitted · alternative baby-sit
- ambitransitiveTo watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money.
We need someone to babysit our children while we go to the theater.
2 more examples
My daughter is babysitting for the Morgans at number ten, who are going out on a date night.
Bart eventually gets Laura to babysit while Homer and Marge eat at the Sea Captain’s all-you-can-eat seafood joint, The Frying Dutchman.
2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV ClubSynonyms: childsit
- informaltransitiveTo watch or tend a thing or process without normally intervening in it, e.g. as a precaution should an emergency happen.
The reaction takes several hours, so we leave a graduate student to babysit it.
- informaltransitiveTo watch or attend anything or anyone more closely than ought to be needed; to have to help or coax too much.
He left me to babysit the new guy while he got some work done.
1 more example
It was observed by the FBI personnel assigned to “babysit” agent Tricycle that his egregiously excessive spending was causing unwanted attention […]
2016, Christopher Vasey, Nazi Intelligence Operations in Non-Occupied Territories, page 175Synonyms: coddle
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money.
verbTo watch or attend anything or anyone more closely than ought to be needed; to have to help or coax too much.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Back-formation from babysitter.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic يجالس
- يجالسto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Chinese Mandarin 代人照看孩子, 照看嬰兒 /照看婴儿
- 代人照看孩子 (dàirén zhàokàn háizi)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- 照看嬰兒 /照看婴儿 (zhàokàn yīngér)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Czech hlídat děti
- hlídat dětito watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Danish babysitte, passe børn
- babysitteto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- passe børnto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Dutch babysitten, kinderen passen
- babysittento watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- kinderen passento watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- nauwgelet begeleidento watch or attend anything or anyone unnecessarily closely
Esperanto varti
- vartito watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Finnish olla lapsenvahtina, olla lapsenlikkana
- olla lapsenvahtinato watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- olla lapsenlikkanato watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
French faire du baby-sitting, garder
- faire du baby-sittingto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- garderto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
German babysitten
- babysittento watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Hebrew שמרטף
- שמרטף (shmirtéf)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Hungarian bébiszitterkedik, bébiszittel
- bébiszitterkedikto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- bébiszittelto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- gyerekre vigyázto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Italian fare da babysitter, prendere per mano
- fare da babysitterto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- prendere per manoto watch or attend anything or anyone unnecessarily closely
Japanese 子守する
- 子守する (komori suru)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Korean 아이를 봐주다, 애들을 봐주다
- 아이를 봐주다 (aireul bwajuda)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- 애들을 봐주다 (aedeureul bwajuda)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Norwegian Bokmål sitte barnevakt, passe barn
- sitte barnevaktto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- passe barnto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Polish opiekować się dzieckiem, opiekować się
- opiekować się dzieckiemto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- opiekować sięto watch or attend anything or anyone unnecessarily closely
Portuguese pajear
- pajearto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Russian ня́ньчиться, сиде́ть с ребёнком / с детьми
- ня́ньчиться (njánʹčitʹsja)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- сиде́ть с ребёнком / с детьми (sidétʹ s rebjónkom / s detʹmi)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- ня́ньчиться (njánʹčitʹsja)to watch or attend anything or anyone unnecessarily closely
Spanish cuidar niños (los), hacer de canguro/niñero
- cuidar niños (los) (de)to watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- hacer de canguro/niñeroto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Swedish sitta barnvakt
- sitta barnvaktto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Vietnamese trông trẻ, trông em
- trông trẻto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
- trông emto watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money
Cite this entry
babysit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babysit
“babysit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babysit. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “babysit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/babysit.
Source: babysit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.