Definition

1. Noun:

   • Incomprehensible or foolish talk: Speech that is rapid, continuous, and difficult to understand, often perceived as trivial or nonsensical.
   • A continuous, murmuring sound: The gentle, bubbling sound of flowing water, like that of a small stream.

2. Verb:

   • To talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish or incomprehensible way: To speak quickly and excitedly about unimportant things, often making little sense.
   • To make a continuous, murmuring sound: To flow with a gentle, bubbling noise, as water does over stones.
   • To utter meaningless sounds: To make sounds like those of an infant who is learning to talk.
   • To reveal a secret carelessly or indiscreetly: To divulge confidential information, often unintentionally through continuous talking.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The constant babble from the nearby table made it hard to concentrate. (The continuous, trivial talk created a distraction.)
  • We fell asleep to the soothing babble of the brook. (The gentle sound of the flowing water helped us sleep.)

• Verb:

  • The excited children would babble about their day the moment they got home. (The children talked rapidly and excitedly about unimportant details.)
  • A small stream babbled through the mossy rocks. (The stream flowed with a gentle, bubbling sound.)
  • The baby will babble happily, making "ba-ba" and "da-da" sounds. (The infant produces meaningless, speech-like sounds.)
  • Be careful not to babble the company's plans at the party. (Be cautious not to reveal confidential information through careless talk.)

Advanced Usage

• "to babble on": to talk continuously and at length, often annoyingly.

  • He babbled on about his new hobby for an hour. (He talked incessantly and at great length about his new interest.)

• "a babble of voices": a confusing mixture of many people talking at once.

  • The room was filled with a babble of voices after the announcement. (The space was full of the confusing sound of many people speaking simultaneously.)

Variants and Related Words

• Babbler (n): a person who babbles; a talkative, indiscreet person.

  • He's known as the office babbler; you can't tell him a secret. (He has a reputation for being a talkative person who cannot keep secrets.)

• Babbling (adj/n): the act or sound of babbling.

  • The babbling stream was a peaceful sight. (The murmuring stream created a peaceful scene.)

Synonyms

• Prate: to talk foolishly or at tedious length.
• Burble: to make a continuous murmuring noise; to speak in an excited, rapid way.
• Blab: to reveal secrets by talking carelessly.
• Gibber: to speak rapidly and unintelligibly, often in a state of excitement or fear.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Babble out: to reveal something suddenly or uncontrollably through speech.
  • In his nervousness, he babbled out the entire plan. (Due to his anxiety, he revealed the complete plan through rapid, uncontrolled talk.)

Related Idioms

• A babbling brook: a small stream that makes a gentle, murmuring sound; often used to evoke a sense of peace and nature.
  • Their cottage was next to a beautiful babbling brook. (Their small house was situated beside a peaceful, murmuring stream.)

Noun

1. gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby

Verb

1. divulge confidential information or secrets
   • Be careful--his secretary talks
2. flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
   • babbling brooks
3. to talk foolishly
   • The two women babbled and crooned at the baby
4. utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way
   • The old man is only babbling--don't pay attention