noun
Babel
BAY-bl
noun
1
A confused, noisy mixture of voices or languages.
"The market was a babel of languages and haggling voices."
2
A scene of noise, confusion, or disorder.
"The office turned into a babel the moment the fire alarm went off."
How to Use Babel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA jumble of confusing noise or many languages spoken at once, from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
Common pairings
a babel of voices
a babel of languages
Word Forms
Babels plural
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The market was a _____ of languages and haggling voices.
Etymology
From the biblical Tower of Babel, where, according to Genesis, God confused human languages so builders could no longer understand one another.