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babysitter

noun

  1. person who cares for one or more children for a short period of time in place of their legal guardians
L316609 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪ̯biˌsɪtə/ / [ˈbe̞ɪ̯bɪi̯ˌsɪtʰə] / /ˈbeɪ̯biˌsɪtɚ/

noun

Etymology: From baby + sitter.

  1. A person who cares for one or more babies or children for a short period of time in place of their legal guardians.

    My neighbor is sometimes a babysitter for other mothers’ children.

  2. A person who has to watch or attend to anything or anyone unnecessarily closely; a coddler or handholder.

    He said he did not want to be on tenterhooks worrying about us and having to act as a babysitter for grown men.