baby-sit, sit, babysit (verb)

work or act as a baby-sitter

"I cannot baby-sit tonight; I have too much homework to do"

baby-sit, babysit (verb)

take watchful responsibility for

"I baby-sit the neighbor's plants when she is out of town"

babysit (Verb)

To watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money.

babysit (Verb)

To watch or attend anything or anyone unnecessarily closely; to have to help or coax too much.

babysit

Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides autonomy from parental control and dispensable income, as well as an introduction to the techniques of childcare. It emerged as a social role for teenagers in the 1920s, and became especially important in suburban America in the 1950s and 1960s, when there was an abundance of small children. It stimulated an outpouring of folk culture in the form of urban legends, pulp novels, and horror films.