- a spongelike cake leavened with yeast and often containing raisins, baked in a small mold and then usually soaked with a rum syrup.
- (especially in Slavic or Eastern European cultures) an elderly woman or grandmother: In our house lived my parents, my baba—God rest her soul—my three siblings, and me.
- father (also used as a polite term of address for any older man): That's the second lesson my Baba taught me growing up—that consistent hard work is very important and always pays off.
- a male spiritual leader (also used as a title with the leader’s name): I devoured hundreds of religious books, including those by many Hindu babas and sadhus.She is a devout follower of Sai Baba, a spiritual leader known for his teachings of love, compassion, and selflessness.
- a baby or young child.
- a small cake of leavened dough, sometimes mixed with currants and usually soaked in rum (rum baba)
