Babysits

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To oversee and attend to a child in the absence of their parents while ensuring their safety and engagement during that time
2. To provide supervision and care for a minor, typically during the absence of their guardians, while keeping them safe and occupied
3. To temporarily look after a child, ensuring their wellbeing while their parents or guardians are away

Etymology: "Babysits" is the third-person singular present form of "babysit," which means to look after a child while the parents are away. The verb is a back-formation from "babysitter," meaning that English speakers first had the noun and then, by stripping off the agent ending "-er," created the verb from it. The noun "babysitter" itself is a compound of "baby" and "sitter," where "sitter" in this sense is a person who sits with someone in their care.

Synonyms: watch, tend, care for