babbitt
IPA: bˈæbɪt
noun
- A surname.
- (US, dated) A person who subscribes complacently to materialistic middle-class ideals.
- Short for babbitt metal, Babbitt metal (“a soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction”). [A soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction.]
- (US, dated) Alternative letter-case form of Babbitt (“a person who subscribes complacently to materialistic middle-class ideals”) [A surname.]
- (dated) Alternative letter-case form of babbitt (“a soft white alloy of variable composition (for example, nine parts of tin to one of copper, or fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction”)
verb
- (transitive) To line (something) with babbitt metal to reduce friction.