I. in ‧ fant 1 W3 /ˈɪnfənt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: enfant , from Latin infans , from infans 'unable to speak' , from fari 'to speak' ]
1 . [countable] formal a baby or very young child:
An infant’s skin is very sensitive.
⇨ ↑ Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
2 . infants [plural] children in school in Britain between the ages of four and eight
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1 )
■ adjectives
▪ a young infant
The never-ending demands of a young infant can be very stressful for parents.
▪ a newborn infant
Newborn infants only a few hours old can distinguish between different voices.
▪ an unborn infant
Unborn infants can hear certain sounds while still in the mother’s womb.
▪ a premature infant (=born too early)
The hospital provides life-saving care to premature infants.
▪ a healthy infant
Amy gave birth to a healthy infant.
▪ a sick infant
Sick infants are treated in the intensive care nursery.
■ infant + NOUN
▪ infant deaths
The number of infant deaths has fallen significantly.
▪ infant mortality (=the number of infants who die)
The infant mortality rate doubled during the 1990s.
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THESAURUS
▪ baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
▪ toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
▪ infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
▪ little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
▪ young the babies of an animal or bird:
Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch.
▪ litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.
II. infant 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
1 . infant school/teacher/class etc a school, teacher etc for children aged between four and eight in Britain
2 . intended for babies or very young children:
infant formula milk
3 . an infant company, organization etc has just started to exist or be developed:
infant industries