baby talk

noun

1

a

: the consciously imperfect or altered speech used by adults in speaking to small children

b

: the syntactically imperfect speech or phonetically modified forms used by small children learning to talk

2

: oversimplified speech or writing

Examples of baby talk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keep things simple but avoid using too much baby talk. —Alex Vance, Parents, 31 Oct. 2024

Interpretation isn’t baby talk but, rather, works for all audiences except children, theology professors, lapsed Mormons, and resolute cynics. —Brian T. Allen, National Review, 20 Jan. 2024

Listen to Barker on One Life One Chance with Toby Morse below (baby talk comes at 1:16:09 mark). —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 1 Nov. 2023

His mother, Veronica Farrish, refused to let family members use baby talk with him. —Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

baby talk

noun

1

: the speech used by very young children learning to talk

2

: speech like baby talk sometimes used by adults to speak to very young children

Medical Definition

baby talk

noun

1

: the syntactically imperfect speech or phonetically modified forms used by small children learning to talk

2

: the consciously imperfect or altered speech often used by adults in speaking to small children