crack baby

noun

A child born to a mother who used cocaine during pregnancy, especially crack cocaine, or any child with substance abuse related birth defects.

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Meanings

nouncrack baby (plural crack babies)

plural crack babies

  1. derogatoryA child born to a mother who used cocaine during pregnancy, especially crack cocaine, or any child with substance abuse related birth defects.

    Developmental psychologist Claire Coles, who is also a clinician, has seen "crack babies" who were in fact colicky babies.

    1995 July, Katharine Greider, “Crackpot Ideas”, in Mother Jones Magazine, page 56

Origin

From crack (“cocaine”) + baby.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

crack baby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20baby

MLA

“crack baby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20baby. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crack baby,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20baby.

Source: crack baby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.