MEANING
To make a continuous succession of light, irregular sounds, especially as a small stream flows.
Use it for
Lively small streams and soothing irregular background sound.Give running water a light, talkative rhythm.
Words that belong together
- brook babbles
- babble over stones
- babbling stream
On the page
A brook babbled below the orchard.
The stream babbled over the shallow stones all night.
After the road noise faded, they heard water babbling nearby.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- babble / babbles
- Past tense
- babbled
- Past participle
- babbled
- Present participle
- babbling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- babble / babbles
- Present continuous
- am/is/are babbling
- Present perfect
- have/has babbled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been babbling
- Past
- babbled
- Past continuous
- was/were babbling
- Past perfect
- had babbled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been babbling
- Future
- will babble / babbles
- Future continuous
- will be babbling
- Future perfect
- will have babbled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been babbling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: environment. The water sense is conventional; in speech it can imply incoherence, which need not color a stream description. Verb [base, third-person, past, past participle, -ing]: babble, babbles, babbled, babbled, babbling.
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