Standard Lemma guide

babysitter

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪ̯biˌsɪtə/
  • Received-Pronunciation: [ˈbe̞ɪ̯bɪi̯ˌsɪthə]
  • General-American: /ˈbeɪ̯biˌsɪtɚ/
  • General-American: [ˈbeɪ̯bɪi̯ˌsɪɾɚ]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˈbæ̝ɪ̯biˌsɪtɚ/
  • Australian: [ˈbæ̝ɪ̯bɪi̯ˌsɪɾɚ]
  • CMU ARPABET: B EY1 B IY0 S IH2 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who cares for one or more babies or children for a short period of time in place of their legal guardians.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • My neighbor is sometimes a babysitter for other mothers’ children.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: childsitter, sitter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: childminder

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person who has to watch or attend to anything or anyone unnecessarily closely; a coddler or handholder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: baby-sitter, sitter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: keeper

History

Etymology

From baby + sitter.

Across languages

Translations

152 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: dado — baby or child caretaker
  • Arabic: حَاضِنَة (ḥāḍina) — baby or child caretaker
  • Arabic: مُرَبِّيَة (murabbiya) — baby or child caretaker
  • Armenian: բեբիսիտեր (bebisiter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Armenian: դայակ (dayak) — baby or child caretaker
  • Asturian: acordador — baby or child caretaker
  • Asturian: acordadora — baby or child caretaker
  • Azerbaijani: dayə — baby or child caretaker
  • Basque: haurtzain — baby or child caretaker
  • Belarusian: ня́ня (njánja) — baby or child caretaker
  • Belarusian: бэбісі́тэр (bebisíter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Bengali: বেবিসিটার (bebiśiṭar) — baby or child caretaker
  • Bengali: আয়া (aẏa) — baby or child caretaker
  • Bulgarian: детегледа́чка (detegledáčka) — baby or child caretaker
  • Bulgarian: бава́чка (baváčka) — baby or child caretaker
  • Bulgarian: бейбиси́тър (bejbisítǎr) — baby or child caretaker
  • Burmese: အာယား (aya:) — baby or child caretaker
  • Burmese: ကလေးထိန်း (ka.le:htin:) — baby or child caretaker
  • Catalan: cangur — baby or child caretaker
  • Chinese Cantonese: 保姆 (bou2 mou5) — baby or child caretaker
  • Chinese Mandarin: 臨時看孩子的人 /临时看孩子的人 — baby or child caretaker
  • Chinese Mandarin: 临时看孩子 的人 (línshí kān háizi de rén) — baby or child caretaker
  • Chinese Mandarin: 保姆 (bǎomǔ) — baby or child caretaker
  • Czech: dozor u dítěte — baby or child caretaker
  • Danish: babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Danish: barnepige — baby or child caretaker
  • Danish: aftenvagt — baby or child caretaker
  • Dutch: babyoppas — baby or child caretaker
  • Dutch: kinderoppas — baby or child caretaker
  • Dutch: oppas — baby or child caretaker
  • Dutch: wiegewacht — baby or child caretaker
  • Dutch: babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Esperanto: vartisto — baby or child caretaker
  • Esperanto: vartistino — baby or child caretaker
  • Estonian: lapsehoidja — baby or child caretaker
  • Finnish: lapsenkaitsija — baby or child caretaker
  • Finnish: lapsenvahti — baby or child caretaker
  • Finnish: babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • French: baby-sitter — baby or child caretaker
  • French: gardien d’enfant — baby or child caretaker
  • French: gardienne d’enfant — baby or child caretaker
  • French: bonne d’enfant — baby or child caretaker
  • French: babysitteuse — baby or child caretaker
  • French: nounou — baby or child caretaker
  • French: nurse — baby or child caretaker
  • Georgian: ძიძა (ʒiʒa) — baby or child caretaker
  • Georgian: მომსვლელი ძიძა (momsvleli ʒiʒa) — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Babysitterin — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Kinderhüter — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Kinderhüterin — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Kinderbetreuer — baby or child caretaker
  • German: Kinderbetreuerin — baby or child caretaker
  • Greek: μπέιμπι σίτερ (béimpi síter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Greek: φύλακας νηπίων (fýlakas nipíon) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hebrew: שְׁמַרְטַף (sh'martáf) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hebrew: שְׁמַרְטַפִית (sh'martafít) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hebrew: בייביסיטר (beibisiter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hindi: दाई (dāī) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hindi: बेबीसिटर (bebīsiṭar) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hindi: आया (āyā) — baby or child caretaker
  • Hungarian: bébiszitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Hungarian: pótmama — baby or child caretaker
  • Hungarian: dadus — baby or child caretaker
  • Icelandic: barnapía — baby or child caretaker
  • Icelandic: dagmamma — baby or child caretaker
  • Indonesian: pramusiwi — baby or child caretaker
  • Indonesian: pengasuh anak — baby or child caretaker
  • Indonesian: pengasuh — baby or child caretaker
  • Irish: feighlí páistí — baby or child caretaker
  • Irish: feighlí leanaí — baby or child caretaker
  • Irish: gogamán — baby or child caretaker
  • Italian: baby-sitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Italian: guardabimbi — baby or child caretaker
  • Italian: badabimbi — baby or child caretaker
  • Japanese: ベビーシッター (bebīsittā) — baby or child caretaker
  • Japanese: 子守 (komori) — baby or child caretaker
  • Japanese: 守 (mori) — baby or child caretaker
  • Khmer: អ្នកមើលក្មេង (nĕək məəl kmeeng) — baby or child caretaker
  • Khmer: ភីលៀង (phiiliəng) — baby or child caretaker
  • Khmer: ធាត្រី (thiətrəy) — baby or child caretaker
  • Korean: 베이비시터 (beibisiteo) — baby or child caretaker
  • Northern Kurdish: dadik — baby or child caretaker
  • Lao: ແມ່ລ້ຽງ (mǣ līang) — baby or child caretaker
  • Lao: ພີ່ລ້ຽງ (phī līang) — baby or child caretaker
  • Latin: infantaria — baby or child caretaker
  • Latvian: aukle — baby or child caretaker
  • Lithuanian: ateinanti auklė — baby or child caretaker
  • Lithuanian: vaikų prižiūrėtoja — baby or child caretaker
  • Lithuanian: auklė — baby or child caretaker
  • Lower Tanana: tr'enokayi k'onaɬtoyenh — baby or child caretaker
  • Macedonian: дадилка (dadilka) — baby or child caretaker
  • Macedonian: бебиси́тер (bebisíter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Malay: pengasuh bayi — baby or child caretaker
  • Malay: pengasuh — baby or child caretaker
  • Maltese: bejbisiter — baby or child caretaker
  • Mongolian: хүүхэд харагч (xüüxed xaragč) — baby or child caretaker
  • Mongolian: асрагч (asragč) — baby or child caretaker
  • Mongolian: хүүхэд асрагч (xüüxed asragč) — baby or child caretaker
  • Norman: gardeux d'êfants — baby or child caretaker
  • Norman: gardeuse d'êfants — baby or child caretaker
  • Norwegian Bokmål: barnevakt — baby or child caretaker
  • Iranian Persian: پَرَسْتارِ بَچِّه (parastâr-e bačče) — baby or child caretaker
  • Iranian Persian: پَرَسْتارِ کودَک (parastâr-e kudak) — baby or child caretaker
  • Iranian Persian: بِیبیسیتَر (beybi-sitar) — baby or child caretaker
  • Plautdietsch: Kjinjamejal — baby or child caretaker
  • Polish: niania — baby or child caretaker
  • Polish: opiekunka — baby or child caretaker
  • Portuguese: babá — baby or child caretaker
  • Romanian: babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Romanian: bonă — baby or child caretaker
  • Romanian: doică — baby or child caretaker
  • Russian: приходя́щая ня́ня (prixodjáščaja njánja) — baby or child caretaker
  • Russian: ня́ня (njánja) — baby or child caretaker
  • Russian: бебиси́ттер (bɛbisíttɛr) — baby or child caretaker
  • Russian: бэбиси́ттер (bɛbisíttɛr) — baby or child caretaker
  • Serbo-Croatian: да̀диља — baby or child caretaker
  • Serbo-Croatian: dàdilja — baby or child caretaker
  • Slovak: opatrovnica — baby or child caretaker
  • Slovak: dozor u dieťaťa — baby or child caretaker
  • Slovene: varuška — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: niñera — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: niñero — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: canguro — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: china — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: aña — baby or child caretaker
  • Spanish: baby-sitter (beibi-síter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Swahili: mlezi wa muda — baby or child caretaker
  • Swahili: mlei — baby or child caretaker
  • Swahili: yaya — baby or child caretaker
  • Swedish: barnvakt — baby or child caretaker
  • Swedish: babysitter — baby or child caretaker
  • Tagalog: yáya — baby or child caretaker
  • Tagalog: tagá-alagà ng batà — baby or child caretaker
  • Tajik: доя (doya) — baby or child caretaker
  • Tajik: бачабардор (bačabardor) — baby or child caretaker
  • Telugu: ఆయా (āyā) — baby or child caretaker
  • Thai: พี่เลี้ยง (pîi-líiang) — baby or child caretaker
  • Turkish: çocuk bakıcısı — baby or child caretaker
  • Turkish: dadı — baby or child caretaker
  • Turkmen: daýa — baby or child caretaker
  • Ukrainian: ня́ня (njánja) — baby or child caretaker
  • Ukrainian: бебісі́ттер (bebisítter) — baby or child caretaker
  • Urdu: بیبی سِٹَر (bebī siṭar) — baby or child caretaker
  • Urdu: دائِی (dāī) — baby or child caretaker
  • Urdu: آیا (āyā) — baby or child caretaker
  • Vietnamese: người giữ trẻ — baby or child caretaker
  • Volapük: cilikälädan — baby or child caretaker
  • Volapük: cilihikälädan — baby or child caretaker
  • Volapük: cilijikälädan — baby or child caretaker
  • Welsh: gwarchodwr banbanod — baby or child caretaker
  • Yiddish: בעיביסיטער (beybisiter) — baby or child caretaker