Meaning & use
babysitting
Last updated
“babysitting” is a form of “babysit”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The job of looking after children in their home while their parents are out, usually for a few hours.
Grammar: No plural and no article: she does babysitting on weekends.
Patterns
- do some babysitting
- babysitting for someone
Babysitting is how my cousin earns pocket money on Saturday nights.
We pay forty dollars for an evening of babysitting.
I did some babysitting for the neighbors last night.
verbtransitive or intransitive
The -ing form of babysit: looking after children while their parents are out.
Grammar: It can take an object or not: she is babysitting tonight, or babysitting the twins.
Patterns
- babysitting someone
- babysitting for someone
I'm babysitting my little brother this evening.
She was babysitting for the Johnsons when the power went out.
He is babysitting the twins while their parents see a film.
Word forms
| base form | babysit |
|---|---|
| third person singular | babysits |
| past tense | babysat |
| past participle | babysat |
Common combinations
- do babysitting
- She does babysitting every Friday night.
- babysitting job
- I found a babysitting job near my school.
- babysitting money
- He saved his babysitting money for a new bike.
- babysitting for someone
- I'm babysitting for my aunt tonight.
- free babysitting
- Grandparents often offer free babysitting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- childminding
- Childminding in British English is a regular paid service often during the day, while babysitting is usually occasional and in the evening.
- child care
- Child care is the broad term for any arrangement for looking after children, including nurseries, while babysitting is informal and in the home.
- minding the kids
- Minding the kids is a casual phrase that parents also use for their own children, but babysitting suggests someone else's.
Word family
- babysit verb
- to look after children while parents are away
- babysitter noun
- a person who babysits
- baby noun
- a very young child
Commonly confused: babysitting or nannying?
babysitting vs nannying
Nannying is a regular full-time or part-time job inside a family, while babysitting is occasional.
Practice
My sister earns extra money by ____ for our neighbors on weekends.
Choose one answer.
After the preposition 'by' you need an -ing form. Babysat and babysits are finite verbs, and babysitter is a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “babysitting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.