lullaby

American  

[luhl-uh-bahy] / ˈlʌl əˌbaɪ /

noun

plural

lullabies

1. a song used to lull a child to sleep; cradlesong.

2. any lulling song.

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verb (used with object)

lullabied, lullabying

1. to lull with or as with a lullaby.

lullaby British  

/ ˈlʌləˌbaɪ /

noun

1. a quiet song to lull a child to sleep

2. the music for such a song

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verb

1. (tr) to quiet or soothe with or as if with a lullaby

Etymology

Origin of lullaby

1550–60; equivalent to lulla, lulla ( y ), interjection used in cradlesongs ( late Middle English lullai, lulli ) + -by, as in bye-bye

Example Sentences

In one of the film’s most stirring moments, indicative of its quiet power, Duvall keeps his back to the camera as he sings a lullaby hymn only for himself.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

He guesses that Kopycinski, who lost two sisters at Auschwitz, “probably dedicated the lullaby to a son from a previous marriage before his deportation.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Soundtracking it is a snippet of “Sueña Lindo, Corazón,” a tender, stripped-down folk lullaby for a wounded heart.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Yet from that divided debut emerged one transcendent constant: a lullaby called “Summertime.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Her voice should speak, and I have proof of lullaby and tenderness.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson