Meaning & use
babysitter
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person paid to care for children for a short time while the parents are out.
Grammar: A countable person: one babysitter, two babysitters. Use for occasional evenings or short periods.
Patterns
- hire a babysitter
- work as a babysitter
- babysitter for someone
We hired a babysitter so we could attend the evening class.
Our babysitter arrives at seven and puts the kids to bed.
She works as a babysitter on weekends.
Word forms
| plural | babysitters |
|---|
Common combinations
- hire a babysitter
- They hire a babysitter twice a month.
- reliable babysitter
- A reliable babysitter calls if the bus is late.
- babysitter for the evening
- We found a babysitter for the evening.
- teenage babysitter
- Their teenage babysitter knows first aid.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nanny
- Usually regular, long-term, and often full-time childcare; babysitting is usually occasional and shorter.
- childminder
- British for a registered person who cares for children, often in the childminder's home; less temporary-sounding than babysitter.
- au pair
- A young person, often from another country, who lives with a family and helps with children in exchange for room, board, and pocket money.
- caregiver
- Broader: anyone who gives care, not only paid short-term child supervision.
Word family
- babysit verb
- To care for children for a short period, usually for pay.
- babysitting noun
- The activity or job of caring for children temporarily.
Commonly confused: babysitter or baby shower?
babysitter vs baby shower
A baby shower is a party for an expected baby; a babysitter is a person who cares for children.
Practice
Which word best fits? We need a ___ for Friday night because the regular ___ only works weekdays.
Choose one answer.
A babysitter fits short-term Friday-night care, while a nanny suggests regular, ongoing work. The other pairs are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “babysitter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.