infant

1 of 2

noun

in·​fant ˈin-fənt How to pronounce infant (audio)
1
: a child in the first period of life
2
: a person who is not of full age : minor

infant

2 of 2

adjective

1
: intended for young children
2
: being in an early stage of development
3
: of, relating to, or being in infancy

Examples of infant in a Sentence

Noun a study of health problems that can affect young infants He showed us a picture of his infant daughter. Adjective She is an infant teacher.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Among those hospitalized, 20% were infants younger than 1. Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Democrats also said the bill would fully fund a nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children, providing about $7 billion for what is known as the WIC program. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 7 Mar. 2024 The infant manatees had to be bottle-fed every four hours. Jason Gulley Catrin Einhorn, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Jool Baby is the latest company to voluntarily recall an infant swing due to the risk of suffocation for babies. Sari Hitchins, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024 Parents arrive at overwhelmed health facilities begging for infant formula. Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The infant’s ribs grew more pronounced and her eyes began to bulge, Abu Sultan said, both signs of acute malnutrition. Hajar Harb, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 The bill allows a staff member in charge of an infant and toddler room to be at least 18 years old, rather than 21, and allows 16 and 17-year-olds to be counted in those staff ratios for school-age children, provided the teens are never alone with children. Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Mar. 2024 The actor shared a throwback photo on Instagram of him holding Stellan as an infant, noting that he was set to graduate high school later that day. Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The devilish Goblin King gave protagonist Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) 13 hours to break free of his supernatural maze in order to save her infant half-brother, Toby. Marc Bernardin, EW.com, 11 Mar. 2024 The high contribution from the donor stem cells the research achieved is what gave the infant cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) a strange green tinge. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023 John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s snuggly son Wren Stephens takes the infant crown of PEOPLE's Cutest Baby in 2023's Sexiest Man Alive issue. Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023 Williams is co-chairing an effort to create voluntary safety standards for infant wearable blankets — the broad term for sleep sacks and swaddles — through ASTM International, which develops standards for products through a collaborative process that is open to the public. Suzy Khimm, NBC News, 16 June 2023 Arnaout warned against attempting to make formula at home, because commercial formulas are specially designed for infant nutritional needs. Dallas News, 17 May 2022 The Sturgis plant closed in February after regulators launched an investigation into possible links between formula produced there and a series of infant bacterial infections and two deaths. Zachary Snowdon Smith, Forbes, 16 May 2022 All infant formula should be thrown away after that date. Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 3 Mar. 2023 Infant child care is the hardest kind to find, and the few child care providers that offer infant care often have months-long waiting lists. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English enfaunt, from Anglo-French enfant, from Latin infant-, infans, from infant-, infans, adjective, incapable of speech, young, from in- + fant-, fans, present participle of fari to speak — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of infant was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near infant

Cite this Entry

“Infant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infant. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

infant

noun
in·​fant
ˈin-fənt
: a child in the first period of life
infant adjective

Medical Definition

infant

noun
in·​fant ˈin-fənt How to pronounce infant (audio)
1
a
: a child in the first year of life : baby
b
: a child several years of age
2
: a person who is not of full age : minor
infant adjective

Legal Definition

infant

noun
in·​fant ˈin-fənt How to pronounce infant (audio)
: a person who is not of the age of majority : minor compare adult

More from Merriam-Webster on infant

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