babe in arms

Idioms and Phrases

An infant, as in She's been a family friend since I was a babe in arms . Although the word “babe” for baby has been used since the 1300s, this phrase describing a child too young to walk (and hence having to be carried) dates only from about 1900.

Example Sentences

There were a half dozen of them—two men, three females, and one babe-in-arms.

From Project Gutenberg