- baby
- nounADJECTIVE▪ new, newborn, tiny▪ low-birthweight, small, tiny▪
Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of producing a low-birthweight baby.
▪ big▪ full-term▪ premature, preterm (esp. BrE)▪ stillborn▪ unborn▪ little, young▪ three-day-old, six-week-old, ten-month-old, etc.▪ beautiful, bonny (BrE), cute, lovely (esp. BrE)▪ bouncing (informal), healthy, normal▪A bonny, bouncing baby, Freddie was her heart's desire and joy.
▪ contented (esp. BrE), good, perfect▪ colicky, crying, screaming▪ sleeping▪ growing▪He took an interest in the growing baby even before it was born.
▪ bottle-fed, breastfed▪ illegitimate▪ test-tube▪ abandoned, unwanted▪ war (= born during the war)VERB + BABY▪ have▪I want to have a baby.
▪ want▪She's not sure if she wants a baby.
▪ conceive, make (informal, humorous)▪Darling, I just want to stay with you and make babies!
▪ carry, expect▪She's not sure yet how many babies she's carrying.
▪She's expecting a baby in July.
▪ give birth to, produce▪ deliver▪The baby was delivered by a midwife.
▪ lose▪She lost her baby (= had a miscarriage) three months into her pregnancy.
▪ name▪They named the baby Charlie.
▪ care for, look after (esp. BrE)▪ feed▪ bottle-feed▪ breastfeed, nurse▪ burp▪The baby needed burping after every bottle.
▪ wean▪You can start weaning your baby when it's four months old.
▪ change▪The baby needs changing again (= needs a clean nappy/diaper).
▪ bath (BrE), bathe (esp. AmE)▪ comfort, cradle, cuddle, hold, pick up, rock, take▪She rocked the baby to sleep in her arms.
▪Can you take the baby while I unlock the door?
▪ kiss▪ swaddle▪ play with▪ adopt▪They would like to adopt a newborn baby.
▪ have adopted, put up for adoption▪She decided to put her baby up for adoption.
▪ abandonBABY + VERB▪ be due▪The baby is due in October.
▪ arrive, be born▪Their first baby arrived exactly nine months after the wedding.
▪ bawl, cry, scream, wail▪ babble, coo, gurgle▪The baby cooed happily on the rug.
▪ feed, nurse (esp. AmE), suck▪Babies nurse more at night in the first three weeks.
▪ be sick, dribble, drool, spit up (AmE)▪Babies drool a lot when they are teething.
▪ be teething▪ crawl, sit up, take his/her first steps, toddle, walk▪ grow, grow up▪The doctor said the baby was growing nicely.
▪ kick, move▪I could feel the baby moving inside me.
▪ sleepBABY + NOUN▪ boy, girl▪ brother, daughter, sister, son▪ bird, rabbit, etc.▪ clothes▪ food, formula (esp. AmE), milk (esp. BrE)▪ lotion, oil, powder▪ buggy (BrE), carrier, stroller (AmE) (see also baby carriage)▪ alarm (BrE), monitor▪ bath▪ talk▪I didn't use baby talk with my children, but used proper words right from the start.
▪ unit (esp. BrE)▪the hospital's baby unit
▪ shower (AmE)▪ boom (= a period when many more babies are born than usual), boomer (= a person born during such a period)PHRASES▪ sleep like▪He was so tired after all his exertions, he slept like a baby.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
