babbitt

UK: 'Babbitt', 'babbitt': /ˈbæbɪt/ US: (bab′it)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bab•bitt  (bab′it), n. 

1. Metallurgy See Babbitt metal. 
2. Metallurgy a bearing or lining of Babbitt metal.

adj. 

3. Metallurgy pertaining to or made of Babbitt metal.

v.t. 

4. Metallurgy to line, face, or furnish with Babbitt metal.

• short for Babbitt metal 1900–05

Bab•bitt  (bab′it), n. 

1. Biographical Irving, 1865–1933, U.S. educator and critic.
2. Biographical Milton Byron, born 1916, U.S. composer.
3. (italics) a novel (1922) by Sinclair Lewis.
4. (often l.c.) a self-satisfied person who conforms readily to conventional, middle-class ideas and ideals, esp. of business and material success;
   Philistine: from the main character in the novel by Sinclair Lewis.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

babbitt / ˈbæbɪt/ verb

1. (transitive) to line (a bearing) or face (a surface) with Babbitt metal or a similar soft alloy

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Babbitt / ˈbæbɪt/ noun

1. a narrow-minded and complacent member of the middle class

Etymology: 20th Century: after George Babbitt, central character in the novel Babbitt (1922) by Sinclair Lewis

ˈBabbittry, ˈbabbitry noun