infant

The word “infant” means a very young child, roughly from birth up to around two years old. In plain terms, a baby, or something to do with the very earliest stage of childhood or school.

“Infant” is pronounced IHN-fuhnt (/ˈɪn.fənt/ in IPA).

Here is “infant” used in a sentence: “The infant slept peacefully in her mother's arms.”

Depending on how it is used, “infant” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “infant” comes from Latin. From Latin īnfāns, literally "not able to speak" — in- ("not") + fāns, "speaking.".

“Infant” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Infant” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a very young child, roughly from birth up to around two years old.

The words overlap, but 'infant' is a slightly more formal or technical term for a very young child, roughly from birth to around two years old, while 'baby' is the everyday word. Medical and legal texts tend to prefer 'infant'.

An infant is a very young child from birth up to around two, while a toddler is a child who has begun walking, typically from about one to three years old. The stages overlap around the end of the first year.

A newborn is a baby in its first weeks of life, while 'infant' covers a wider span from birth up to around two years. Every newborn is an infant, but not every infant is a newborn.

In British education, 'infant' describes the earliest years of primary school. An infant school or infant class usually covers children roughly aged five to seven, before they move on to junior classes.