babysit

babysit — verb

1. to look after another family's child or baby for a few hours, usually at the fam

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to look after another family's child or baby for a few hours, usually at the family's house, while the parents are away at work or out for the evening.

Example

Ines babysits her neighbor's twins every Friday evening so the parents can go out.

babysit + someone (the children directly)

Could you babysit for the Watanabe family on Saturday while they attend a wedding?

babysit for + parent name (preposition shows whose kids)

Common collocations
  • babysit the kids
  • babysit her brother
  • babysit overnight
  • babysit for free
Synonyms
  • mind

    British, informal: 'mind the kids' — same idea, more casual

  • watch

    American, informal: 'watch the kids for an hour' — shorter time frame implied

  • sit for

    American shortening of babysit, often with the parent's name

Grammar Patterns

babysit + someone

babysit for + parent

babysit while + clause

Usage Note

Subject is usually a teenager, neighbor, friend, or relative — not the child's own parents. The job is short-term (an evening or a few hours), not full-time childcare. Use 'babysit + child' to name the kid, or 'babysit for + parent' to name whose child it is.

Common Mistakes

My mom babysits me every night.
My mom looks after me every night.
parents do not 'babysit' their own children; the word implies someone else's child.
I babysit at the kindergarten as my full-time job.
I work at the kindergarten as my full-time job.
babysitting is short and casual, not a full-time career.

2. to look after several young children inside the carer's house as a regular dayti

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to look after several young children inside the carer's house as a regular daytime paid job, while the kids' parents are away at work.

Example

Mrs. Alvarez babysits five toddlers in her living room from Monday to Friday.

regular weekday schedule shows it is a job

Once her son started school, Yuki began to babysit at home for extra income.

babysit at home as a paid job

Common collocations
  • babysit for a living
  • babysit at home
  • babysit several children
Synonyms
  • childmind

    British: more formal label for the same paid home-based work

  • run a daycare

    American: similar idea but suggests a registered business

Grammar Patterns

babysit (for a living)

babysit at home

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is regular paid work done at the carer's own home, often for several children at once. Sense 1 is a short occasional favour or evening job, usually at the parents' house.

Common Mistakes

She babysits at the children's house every weekday as her career.
She babysits at her own house every weekday.
for the career sense, the carer's home is the workplace, not the children's home.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five words involve taking care of a child, but they differ in scope and register. 'Babysit' is the everyday word for short, occasional childcare done by someone outside the family — a teenager, friend, or neighbor — usually for a few hours. 'Mind' (British) and 'watch' (American) are casual near-synonyms: 'Can you watch the baby for ten minutes?' fits a quick favour. 'Look after' is broader and works for any age and any duration, including parents caring for their own children. 'Nanny' is the strongest contrast: a nanny is a full-time, paid professional who often lives with or works daily for one family. Compare: 'Jake babysits on Saturday nights for pocket money,' but 'The Smiths hired a nanny to live in and care for their newborn.'

babysit ↗mind ↗watch ↗look after ↗nanny ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • babysit the children
  • babysit the baby
  • babysit the twins
  • babysit a toddler

Adverbs

Phrases

  • babysit for free
  • babysit for pocket money
  • babysit for a living
  • ask someone to babysit

Prepositions

  • babysit for (parent)
  • babysit at (home)

Etymology

Old English (baby)Old English (sit)American English

First recorded in American English in the 1940s, 'babysit' was formed by joining 'baby' with the verb 'sit'. The earlier noun 'baby-sitter' came first, around 1937, where 'sitter' meant a person who 'sits with' the child while parents are out. The verb was then back-formed from the noun, a common pattern in English (compare 'edit' from 'editor', 'sculpt' from 'sculptor').