Synonyms

baa

¹ American

[ba, bah] / bæ, bɑ /

verb (used without object)

baaed, baaing

to make the sound of a sheep; bleat.

noun

the bleating cry of a sheep.

B.A.A. ² American

abbreviation

Bachelor of Applied Arts.

baa ¹ British

/ bɑː /

verb

(intr) to make the cry of a sheep; bleat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

the cry made by sheep

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

BAA ² British

noun

the main airports operator in the United Kingdom; until privatization in 1987, an abbreviation for British Airports Authority

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of baa

First recorded in 1580–90; imitative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But before long the baaing of sheep drowned them all out.

From Literature

The reader’s expectations get overturned faster than a bucket of milk when the goat and the sheep get into a spat over which of them is entitled to say “baa.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“Your Majesty,” she began, before being drowned out by a loud “baa” from the sheep.

From New York Times

All baa myself: Is this Britain's loneliest sheep?

From BBC

He’s all baa and no humbug in the new animated adventure “Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023