babbling

American  

[bab-ling] / ˈbæb lɪŋ /

noun

1. foolish or meaningless chatter; prattle.

   the constant babbling of idle gossips.

2. the random production of meaningless vocal sounds characteristic of infants around the age of three months.

---

adjective

1. chattering or prattling aimlessly.

   The babbling crowd quieted and funneled back into the auditorium at the end of intermission.

2. making a continuous murmuring sound.

   a babbling brook.

Other Word Forms

• babblingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of babbling

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English babelinde, bablyng; see origin at babble, -ing ¹ (for the noun senses), -ing ² (for the adjective)

Example Sentences

The phrase echoed the one I had spoken years earlier to a babbling toddler in a Baltimore church.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

Briany was sitting on Raysa’s lap as they watched TV in the living room, babbling along as she listened to the couple talk, when Israel’s phone rang.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Haden Pentecost, 41, was working on a flight from California to London when he started to become agitated and was described as "sweating" and "babbling".

From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025

That is not to say it would have been particularly shrewd for the president to have wandered into the Rose Garden and started babbling about what a “very fine person” Luigi Mangione is.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2025

I didn't get what he was babbling about, till the lettuce finally came up in wavy lines and bunches instead of straight rows.

From "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman