babbitt

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Bab·bitt

 (băb′ĭt)
n.
A narrow-minded, self-satisfied person with an unthinking attachment to middle-class values and materialism.

[After George F. Babbitt, , the main character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis.]

Bab′bitt·ry n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Babbitt

(ˈbæbɪt)
n
derogatory US a narrow-minded and complacent member of the middle class
[C20: after George Babbitt, central character in the novel Babbitt (1922) by Sinclair Lewis]
ˈBabbittry, ˈbabbitry n

babbitt

(ˈbæbɪt)
vb
(Mechanical Engineering) (tr) to line (a bearing) or face (a surface) with Babbitt metal or a similar soft alloy
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bab•bitt

(ˈbæb ɪt)

n.
1. a bearing or lining of Babbitt metal.
v.t.
2. to line, face, or furnish with Babbitt metal.
[1900–05]

Bab•bitt

(ˈbæb ɪt)

n.
1. Irving, 1865–1933, U.S. educator and critic.
2. Milton Byron, born 1916, U.S. composer.
3. (often l.c.) a self-satisfied person who conforms to conventional middle-class ideals, esp. of material success: from the title character of a novel (1922) by Sinclair Lewis.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

babbitt


Past participle: babbitted
Gerund: babbitting

Imperative
babbitt
babbitt
Present
I babbitt
you babbitt
he/she/it babbitts
we babbitt
you babbitt
they babbitt
Preterite
I babbitted
you babbitted
he/she/it babbitted
we babbitted
you babbitted
they babbitted
Present Continuous
I am babbitting
you are babbitting
he/she/it is babbitting
we are babbitting
you are babbitting
they are babbitting
Present Perfect
I have babbitted
you have babbitted
he/she/it has babbitted
we have babbitted
you have babbitted
they have babbitted
Past Continuous
I was babbitting
you were babbitting
he/she/it was babbitting
we were babbitting
you were babbitting
they were babbitting
Past Perfect
I had babbitted
you had babbitted
he/she/it had babbitted
we had babbitted
you had babbitted
they had babbitted
Future
I will babbitt
you will babbitt
he/she/it will babbitt
we will babbitt
you will babbitt
they will babbitt
Future Perfect
I will have babbitted
you will have babbitted
he/she/it will have babbitted
we will have babbitted
you will have babbitted
they will have babbitted
Future Continuous
I will be babbitting
you will be babbitting
he/she/it will be babbitting
we will be babbitting
you will be babbitting
they will be babbitting
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been babbitting
you have been babbitting
he/she/it has been babbitting
we have been babbitting
you have been babbitting
they have been babbitting
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been babbitting
you will have been babbitting
he/she/it will have been babbitting
we will have been babbitting
you will have been babbitting
they will have been babbitting
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been babbitting
you had been babbitting
he/she/it had been babbitting
we had been babbitting
you had been babbitting
they had been babbitting
Conditional
I would babbitt
you would babbitt
he/she/it would babbitt
we would babbitt
you would babbitt
they would babbitt
Past Conditional
I would have babbitted
you would have babbitted
he/she/it would have babbitted
we would have babbitted
you would have babbitted
they would have babbitted
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Babbitt

A soft metal used as a bearing lining. It was usually a mixture of tin (fifty parts), antimony (five parts), and copper (one part).
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Babbitt  - an alloy of tin with some copper and antimonybabbitt - an alloy of tin with some copper and antimony; a lining for bearings that reduces friction
alloy, metal - a mixture containing two or more metallic elements or metallic and nonmetallic elements usually fused together or dissolving into each other when molten; "brass is an alloy of zinc and copper"
Verb1.babbitt - line with a Babbitt metal
line - cover the interior of; "line the gloves"; "line a chimney"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
Journalist Lidia Ostalowska reconstructs the story of artist Dina Gottli-ebova- Babbitts time at Auschwitz in a haunting character study translated from Polish.
At a breakfast toward the end of this visit to Korea, the Babbitts, Petkoffs, and Douglasses all agreed that this reunion in Korea had been "a great event" and that a group should be formed that "could bring the JAGs together for some kind of annual reunion." (12) According to COL Douglass, the name of this organization--Retired Army Judge Advocate Association--was born high over the Pacific on the return flight from Seoul to the United States.
Babbitt, who had served as an Infantry officer in World War II, had been a judge advocate during the Korea War.
The explicit pairing in Sam Dodsworth's description of "Babbitts and baseball fans," and the emphasis Lewis places on the fact that the authentically likeable Dodsworth is neither of these, gives the reader a strong indication of the author's true thoughts on the worth of both linked parties.
Babbitt, everybody will recognize somebody else." (4)
The Babbitts are hopeful of being accepted socially by the McKelveys but do not succeed.
Perhaps he realizes, however, that there will always be Babbitts in high places, like the late Judge George Hart, who told Kleindienst at his sentencing that his acts reflected "a heart that is too loyal and considerate of the feelings of others" and that even in the dock, he was "still...universally respected and admired.c
According to Babbitt (1910: 189), "Truth" is necessarily "infinite," which is why it is not meant for any poor finite beings like man.
Former CIA director and ex-president Vernon Manley Babbitt sat at his dining-room table flanked by his most trusted compadres, who in many adventures past had defended the American way of life against nuclear terrorists, Islamic fanatics, and armed folk singers.
<IR> BABBITT </IR> (1922) is in many ways an extension of Main Street, with the emphasis shifted from the town to George F.
To understand the Babbitt story, one must understand the context.
Babbitt loved his hometown, just as Sinclair Lewis loved his fictive creation Babbitt and his home state of Minnesota, whose 87 counties and county seats Lewis memorized.