babbling

/bˈæbəlɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.85 in modern English

Syllables: bab-bling
IPA: /bˈæbəlɪŋ/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

a stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words

Uncountable

noun

sounds produced by infant during the babbling period

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Idle senseless talk; prattle.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A confused murmur, as of a stream.

Countable; Uncountable

adj

That babbles.

verb

present participle and gerund of babble

Etymology

From Middle English bablyng, babelynge, equivalent to babble + -ing.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: bablyng

Usage

Inflected Forms

babblings (plural) more babbling (comparative) most babbling (superlative)

Derived Forms

babblingly

Phrases

babbling starling

Synonyms

babble lallation

Rhymes With

dabbling

Questions

How do you pronounce babbling?

The recorded pronunciation is /bˈæbəlɪŋ/.

What does babbling mean?

a stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words

Where does babbling come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce babbling

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “babbling”.

Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bˈæbəlɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.

Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “babbling”.

Repeat and practice — Say “babbling” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.