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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
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Word History
First Known Use
1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near baby talk
Cite this Entry
“Baby talk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baby%20talk. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
baby talk
noun1
: 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
noun1
: 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
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