Word.ws English Dictionary

babysitter test

babysitter test proper noun: an informal method for assessing the maturity, reliability, or probity of a person, inviting one to judge whether one would entrust this person with the care of one's own children.

Proper noun

babysitter test

  1. (idiomatic, public policy) An informal method for assessing the maturity, reliability, or probity of a person, inviting one to judge whether one would entrust this person with the care of one's own children.
    • The babysitter, presumably between the ages of ten and 15, is quite explicitly expected to function in a way usually expected of mature individuals.1993, Gideon Koren et al., “Maturity of Children to Consent to Medical Research: The Babysitter Test,”, in Journal of Medical Ethics, volume 19, number 3, page 146
    • To highlight the inadequacy of such evidence, we propose what we call “the babysitter test” for future prosecution witnesses in death penalty cases. We suggest that, to send someone to the gurney or the electric chair on the word of one witness, the prosecutor must agree to hire that witness as a...2001, Michael L. Radelet, Hugo Bedau, “Erroneous Convictions and the Death Penalty,”, in Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice, Saundra Westervelt and John A. Humphrey eds., →ISBN, page...
  2. (idiomatic) A test for the ease of use of household appliances.
    • "We set out to create a remote that passes the babysitter test," says Klarke, director of marketing and development for Harmony remotes.2006 June 29, “At last, new remotes that are 'universal'”, in Baltimore Sun, retrieved 25 Aug 2010, page 5D
    • I call it the babysitter test. Can I give a remote control to a 15-year-old, gum-snapping Valley Girl and explain, clearly and succinctly in less than 3 minutes, how she can watch TV? Without getting a panicked call when American Idol begins? TiVo passes the test.2006 November 1, Jim Louderback, “Does the PC Belong in the Living Room?”, in PC Magazine, retrieved 25 Aug 2010

Examples of babysitter test in a sentence

  • To highlight the inadequacy of such evidence, we propose what we call “the babysitter test” for future prosecution witnesses in death penalty cases.2001, Michael L. Radelet, Hugo Bedau, “Erroneous Convictions and the Death Penalty,”, in Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice...
  • I use a babysitter test when it comes to Israel, Indyk said.2008 October 25, Emily Baltz, “U.S. Ambassador Calls On Jewish Voters To Drop Republican Support, Back Obama”, in cbsnews.com, retrieved 25...
  • At the devices’ launch, the company claimed this ease of use would pass “the babysitter test” of making TVs and DVD players intuitive to use.2010 May 25, Matt Warman, “Bose bids to simplify home cinema”, in telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 25 Aug 2010:

Questions about babysitter test

What does babysitter test mean?
Babysitter test means an informal method for assessing the maturity, reliability, or probity of a person, inviting one to judge whether one would entrust this person with the care of one's own children.
How do you use babysitter test in a sentence?
To highlight the inadequacy of such evidence, we propose what we call “the babysitter test” for future prosecution witnesses in death penalty cases.
What part of speech is babysitter test?
Babysitter test is a proper noun.

Words near babysitter test in the dictionary

  1. babysits
  2. babysitted
  3. babysittee
  4. babysittees
  5. babysitter
  6. babysitter test
  7. babysitters
  8. babysitting
  9. babysitting circle
  10. babysitting circles
  11. babysittings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: babysitter test (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-babysitter test.ogg.

Cite this entry: “babysitter test.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/babysitter_test. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.