Babbitt Definition
băbĭt
noun
A narrow-minded, self-satisfied person with an unthinking attachment to middle-class values and materialism.
American Heritage
Babbitt metal.
Webster's New World
A smugly narrow and conventional person interested chiefly in business and social success; philistine.
Webster's New World
A person who subscribes complacently to materialistic middle-class ideals.
Wiktionary
verb
To line or cover with Babbitt metal.
Webster's New World
To line with Babbitt metal to reduce friction.
Wiktionary
Origin of Babbitt
Named after the title character in Sinclair Lewis' 1922 novel, Babbit. Also popularised by the George and Ira Gershwin song "The Babbitt and the Bromide," featured first in the 1927 musical "Funny Face" and later in the film Ziegfeld Follies (1945).
From Wiktionary
After George F. Babbitt , the main character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
Named for American inventor Isaac Babbitt (1799–1862)
From Wiktionary
Babbitt Is Also Mentioned In
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to Babbitt using the buttons below.