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.

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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

"America is a big place with 350 plus million people all babbling over their identity and their agency and those struggles create interesting patterns," he says.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

Holmes’ feed is a babbling stream of self-help epigrams, ankle-deep reflections and many, many photos of herself.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2025

Theodora, she tried to whisper, and her mouth could not move; Theodora, she tried to ask, why is it dark? and the voice went on, babbling, low and steady, a little liquid gloating sound.

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson