Definition of "babbitt" in English

noun

1. Ellipsis of babbitt metal or Babbitt metal (“a soft white alloy of variable composition used in bearings to diminish friction”).

   • Running while low on oil had galled the babbitt.

verb

1. (transitive) To line (something) with babbitt metal to reduce friction.

   • The main bearings were babbitted and line-bored.

noun

1. (US, dated) Alternative letter-case form of Babbitt (“a person who subscribes complacently to materialistic middle-class ideals”).

   • … a "babbitt" is a person full of self-confident bluster who is nevertheless a narrowminded philistine and a hypocrite.]