baby step
A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Learning the alphabet is a baby step toward reading.”
“She felt overwhelmed by her new project, so she decided to focus on one baby step at a time.”
“Although the recovery process was long and difficult, each small improvement served as a necessary baby step toward his full return to health.”
The term is derived from the short, uncoordinated physical movements of a young child first attempting to walk.
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babies in the eyes
The minute reflection which one sees of oneself in the eyes of another.
- 02
baby and bathwater
Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.
- 03
baby elephant in the room
An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.
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baby up
To treat as a baby.
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basin of gravy
[Cockney slang]baby
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be left holding the baby
To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.
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black babies
Third-world charities, the missions.
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food baby
A protruding belly resulting from the consumption of a large quantity of food; the contents of one's digestive system causing the protrusion.
Last updated August 10, 2026