Babysit

Quick meaning: Babysit is a verb meaning (ambitransitive) To watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money.

Meaning

(ambitransitive) To watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money.

More Meanings

1. (transitive, informal) To watch or attend anything or anyone more closely than ought to be needed; to have to help or coax too much.
2. (transitive, informal) To watch or tend a thing or process without normally intervening in it, e.g. as a precaution should an emergency happen.

Example Sentences

He left me to babysit the new guy while he got some work done.

We need someone to babysit our children while we go to the theater.

The reaction takes several hours, so we leave a graduate student to babysit it.

My daughter is babysitting for the Morgans at number ten, who are going out on a date night.

Word Forms

• babysits
• babysitting
• babysat
• babysitted
• baby-sit

Synonyms for babysit

Depending on context, synonyms include childsit, coddle.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include baby-sit, occupy, monitor, keeping, retain, keep.

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