I. noun
also bab·bit ˈbabə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V
( -s )
Usage: sometimes capitalized
Etymology: babbitt ( metal )
1. : babbitt metal
2. : a babbitt-metal lining for a bearing
II. adjective
also babbit
Usage: sometimes capitalized
: made of or relating to babbitt metal
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to line or furnish with babbitt metal
IV. noun
also babbit
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: after George F. Babbitt, stereotype American businessman portrayed in the novel Babbitt (1922) by Sinclair Lewis died 1951 American novelist
: a person (as a business or professional man) who conforms unthinkingly and complacently to prevailing middle-class standards of respectability, who makes a cult of material success, and who is contemptuous of or incapable of appreciating artistic or intellectual values
he was repelled by the prosperous and patronizing Babbitts
• bab·bitt·i·cal (ˈ)ba|bid.ə̇kəl adjective , usually capitalized
• bab·bitty ˈbabə̇d.ē adjective , usually capitalized