birth control
Americannoun
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regulation of the number of children born through the deliberate control or prevention of conception.
She campaigned and went to prison for the right of women to practice birth control.
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a drug, technique, or device used to deliberately control or prevent conception (often used attributively).
Diaphragms were a common form of birth control long before the invention of contraceptive pills.
Vasectomies are growing in frequency as a birth control method in many countries.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of birth control
First recorded in 1905–10; popularized in 1914 by Margaret Sanger ( def. )
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.
Around a decade later, when Danovich went to a clinic for another IUD—a small, T-shaped birth control device that’s inserted past the cervix into the uterus—she asked the doctor for pain medication.
From Slate • Jun. 7, 2026
Reliable birth control allowed women to plan careers with a predictability long afforded to men.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Father-of-five Jason Day jokingly described the occasion as "a circus", with Clark adding: "As a man with no kids I'll say it's great birth control but it's a lot of fun."
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Hormonal birth control pills, which help slow the growth of new tissue, are one option for treating endometriosis, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026
They also had less access to birth control.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
