What does babysat mean?
Babysat is the past tense and past participle of "babysit," a verb meaning to look after a child or children while their parents are temporarily away. The word is everyday and informal-to-neutral in register, appearing naturally in sentences such as "She babysat her neighbours' twins last Saturday." Beyond childcare, it also has a well-established figurative sense: to supervise something closely and protectively, as in "an engineer who babysat the servers overnight," though this usage can carry a slightly dismissive tone. The term is recent by dictionary standards, arising in mid-20th-century American English from the compound of "baby" and "sit." Related forms include "babysitter" and "babysitting." It should not be confused with non-standard variants such as "babsat," which are not recognized words. Because the verb is irregular, learners sometimes misform its past tense, making correct use of "babysat" a useful marker of fluency.
verbBabysat is the past tense and past participle of the verb "babysit," meaning to look after a child or children while their parents or usual caregivers are temporarily away.
- To take care of a child or children on behalf of their parents, usually in the family home, typically as a temporary arrangement.
- (Figurative) To supervise or watch over something or someone with close, protective attention, as if caring for a child.
"She babysat her neighbours' twins every Saturday evening last summer."
"He babysat his niece while his sister attended an evening class."
"During the outage, two engineers babysat the server through the night to keep it running."
The word "babysit" only entered common usage in the mid-20th century — before that, people simply said they "minded the baby."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of babysat
The verb "babysit" was coined in American English around the mid-20th century, formed transparently from the compound of "baby" plus "sit," on the model of sitting with a child. It quickly gave rise to the derived nouns "babysitter" and "babysitting." "Babysat" is simply its regular irregular past tense and past participle. No deeper historical root beyond this modern coinage applies.
Related word forms
How babysat is actually used
Informal to neutral register. Commonly used in everyday speech; figurative use (e.g., "babysitting" equipment or colleagues) is colloquial and can carry a mildly dismissive connotation.
Easily confused with babysat
"Babsat" is not an English word; "babysat" is the only correct past form of "babysit."