birth

American  

[burth] / bɜrθ /

noun

1. an act or instance of being born.

   the day of his birth.

2. the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition.

   a difficult birth.

3. lineage; extraction; descent.

   of Grecian birth.

   Synonyms:

   family, blood, line, ancestry, parentage

4. high or noble lineage.

   to be foolishly vain about one's birth.

5. natural heritage.

   a musician by birth.

6. any coming into existence; origin; beginning.

   the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.

   Synonyms:

   inauguration, genesis, inception, commencement, start

7. Archaic. something that is born.

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verb (used with object)

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. to give birth to.

2. to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.

idioms

1. give birth to,

   1. to bear (a child).

   2. to initiate; originate.

      Her hobby gave birth to a successful business.

birth British  

/ bɜːθ /

noun

1. the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirth

2. the act or fact of being born; nativity

3. the coming into existence of something; origin

4. ancestry; lineage

   of high birth

5. noble ancestry

   a man of birth

6. natural or inherited talent

   an artist by birth

7. archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother

8. 1. to bear (offspring)

   2. to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)

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verb

1. to bear or bring forth (a child)

birth Scientific  

/ bûrth /

1. The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes.

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1. Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.

birth More Idioms  

1. see give birth to.

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Other Word Forms

• multibirth noun

Etymology

Origin of birth

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English byrthe, from Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd, Old High German giburt, Gothic gabaurths; bear ¹ ( def. ), -th ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The defendants spoke only to confirm their names, address and date of birth.

From BBC

Kotani said that because of a personnel shortage -- linked to Japan's low birth rate -- this will "not amount to a fundamental strengthening of Japan's defence capabilities".

From Barron's

Since then, she's given birth to her daughter.

From Barron's

But the trauma of Alfie's birth stayed with her and the move up to Sandfields Comprehensive School coincided with a decline in her mental health.

From BBC

Deposits of black carbon from air pollution have been found in the human body including in placentas analysed after birth.

From BBC

Related Words

• beginning
• childbirth
• creation
• delivery