babysitter

babysitter — noun

1. a person, often a teenager paid by the hour, who comes to a family's house to lo

1.名詞B1
釋義

a person, often a teenager paid by the hour, who comes to a family's house to look after the children for a few hours so that the parents can go out.

例句

The Garcias hired a babysitter so they could attend their friend's wedding on Saturday night.

hire a babysitter (so that...)

Linnea works as a babysitter for two neighbours and earns about ten dollars an hour.

work as a babysitter for [family]

同義詞
  • sitter

    shortened, conversational form of babysitter

  • childminder

    British English; can mean either an at-home sitter or a registered daycare provider

文法句型

babysitter for + [child/family]

用法筆記

Subject of the action is usually a teenager or young adult paid by the hour; the job is short-term and ends when the parents return home.

常見錯誤

❌I am a babysitter of three children every weekend.
✅I babysit three children every weekend.
💡use the verb 'babysit' for the activity; 'babysitter' names the person.
❌We need a babysitter to our son tonight.
✅We need a babysitter for our son tonight.
💡the preposition is 'for', not 'to'.

2. a person who runs a small childcare business from inside their own house, lookin

2.名詞
釋義

a person who runs a small childcare business from inside their own house, looking after several other families' children during the day while the parents are at work.

例句

Mrs. Wong is a licensed babysitter and looks after six toddlers in her living room each weekday.

licensed babysitter running home daycare

We drop our daughter off at the babysitter's house at 8 a.m. every weekday morning.

at the babysitter's [house]

同義詞

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: here the children come TO the carer's home and stay during work hours, rather than the carer visiting the family for an evening. Closer in meaning to 'childminder' (UK) or 'home daycare provider' (US).

常見錯誤

❌My babysitter comes every morning at eight.
✅I take my son to the babysitter's every morning at eight.
💡for sense 2, the children travel to the carer, not the other way around.