Meaning & use
neonate
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedicaltechnical
A baby in the first weeks of life, usually the first four weeks after birth.
Grammar: Countable: one neonate, two neonates.
Patterns
- a neonate with something
- neonates born before something
The nurse weighed the neonate and wrote the figure in the chart.
Neonates cannot control their body temperature well, so they are kept warm.
The study followed premature neonates until they went home.
Word forms
| plural | neonates |
|---|
Common combinations
- premature neonate
- A premature neonate needs constant monitoring.
- healthy neonate
- The doctor declared the baby a healthy neonate.
- neonate care
- Neonate care has improved greatly over the last fifty years.
- treat a neonate
- Special training is needed to treat a neonate.
- full-term neonate
- The full-term neonate weighed three and a half kilograms.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- neonatal adjective
- relating to newborn babies
- neonatology noun
- the branch of medicine dealing with newborns
- neonatologist noun
- a specialist doctor for newborns
Commonly confused: neonate or neophyte? neonate or fetus?
neonate vs neophyte
A neophyte is a beginner or new convert, not a baby, although both words start with a prefix meaning new.
neonate vs fetus
A fetus is unborn; a neonate has already been born.
Practice
In a medical report, which word is most likely to describe a baby of three days old?
Choose one answer.
Neonate means a baby in its first weeks. A toddler is a walking child, and adolescent and juvenile apply to much older young people.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “neonate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.