Meaning & use
baby vocabulary
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The set of words that a baby understands or can say at a particular age.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable phrase; say 'a baby's vocabulary' rather than 'a vocabulary' when you mean one child's word list.
Patterns
- a baby's vocabulary
- build a baby's vocabulary
- the baby vocabulary of a two-year-old
Her baby vocabulary grew quickly after her first birthday, from two words to about thirty.
Reading picture books every day is one of the best ways to expand a baby vocabulary.
By eighteen months, most children have a baby vocabulary of at least twenty words.
noununcountable
The simple, repetitive words and sounds that adults use when speaking to very young children.
Grammar: Often replaced by the more common term 'baby talk' when the focus is on how adults speak.
Patterns
- use baby vocabulary with a newborn
- baby vocabulary like 'baa-baa'
Parents often slip into baby vocabulary without noticing, saying 'din-din' instead of 'dinner'.
His baby vocabulary sounded silly on the phone, but it calmed the crying child.
Common combinations
- build a baby's vocabulary
- Singing the same songs each night helps build a baby's vocabulary.
- expand a baby vocabulary
- Talking about what you are doing is a simple way to expand a baby vocabulary.
- a baby vocabulary of + number
- At two years old she had a baby vocabulary of around two hundred words.
- baby vocabulary development
- Doctors check baby vocabulary development at the eighteen-month visit.
- first words in a baby vocabulary
- 'Mama' and 'dada' are often the first words in a baby vocabulary.
Synonyms and how they differ
- baby talk
- Use this when you mean the simplified speech adults direct at babies, not the words the baby itself knows.
- lexicon
- A formal, technical word for all the words a person knows; it is far too academic for everyday talk about babies.
- word list
- A neutral phrase for any collection of words; it lacks the sense of natural development that 'baby vocabulary' carries.
Word family
- vocabulary noun
- All the words known by a person or used in a language.
- babyish adjective
- Acting or sounding like a baby, often used disapprovingly of older children.
- babble noun
- The strings of meaningless sounds a baby makes before real words appear.
Commonly confused: baby vocabulary or baby talk? baby vocabulary or vocabulary?
baby vocabulary vs baby talk
'Baby vocabulary' is the words a baby knows; 'baby talk' is the way adults speak to a baby, with high pitch and simple sounds.
baby vocabulary vs vocabulary
On its own, 'vocabulary' can mean all the words in a language; adding 'baby' narrows it to one small child's word knowledge.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'baby vocabulary' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Baby vocabulary' refers to the words a young child understands or says, so reading aloud naturally helps it grow. Option 0 confuses it with a school word list, and options 2 and 3 make no sense because a vocabulary is not a physical object you write down or store in a car.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “baby vocabulary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.