babysitter

/ˈbeɪbiˌsɪtɚ/noun

Someone who looks after children for a short time while their parents or guardians are away.

Example sentences

“We hired a babysitter so we could go out for dinner.”
“Our babysitter reads the kids a bedtime story before she leaves.”

The verb "babysit" stretches to anything you reluctantly watch over: "I spent the day babysitting the server".

Synonyms for babysitter

sitter

Often confused with babysitter

babysitter vs nanny: nanny (noun): A person employed to look after a family's children.

Related words

caregiverSomeone whose role is to take care of another person.fosterTo raise and care for a child, especially one who is not yours by birth, or to help something grow and develop.spinsterAn older woman who has never married, especially one considered past the usual age for marriage.adoptionThe process of taking another person's child into your family and raising them as your own.bachelorA man who could marry but has not yet done so.adoptTo choose to take a person or thing into a particular relationship as one's own.