1. A sweetheart, lover. A usage imported from the USA into Britain via films, pop songs, etc. The word had begun to be used unself-consciously in Britain in the late 1970s, particularly in the form babes and mainly by working-class speakers. It is used by both sexes, but when used by men to women it can be considered patronising or offensive.

2. In the form a 'babe', an attractive female. The word became a key term in male adolescent speech, first in the USA and, later, elsewhere from the late 1980s.

See also robobabe.