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• born
  born

  adjective

  brought forth by birth.
• Born
  Born

  noun

  Max, 1882–1970, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1954.

born

¹ American  

[bawrn] / bɔrn /

adjective

1. brought forth by birth.

2. possessing from birth the quality, circumstances, or character stated.

   a born musician; a born fool.

3. native to the locale stated; immigrated to the present place from the locale stated.

   a German-born scientist; a Chicago-born New Yorker.

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verb

1. a past participle of bear.

idioms

1. born yesterday, naive; inexperienced.

   You can't fool me with that old trick—I wasn't born yesterday.

Born ² American  

[bawrn] / bɔrn /

noun

1. Max, 1882–1970, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1954.

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born ¹ British  

/ bɔːn /

verb

1. the past participle (in most passive uses) of bear 1

2. is not gullible or foolish

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adjective

1. possessing or appearing to have possessed certain qualities from birth

   a born musician

2. 1. being at birth in a particular social status or other condition as specified

      ignobly born

   2. ( in combination )

      lowborn

3. informal so far in one's life

Born ² British  

/ bɔːn /

noun

1. Max . 1882–1970, British nuclear physicist, born in Germany, noted for his fundamental contribution to quantum mechanics: Nobel prize for physics 1954

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born More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing born

• in all one's born days
• not born yesterday
• to the manner born

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Usage

Care should be taken not to use born where borne is intended: he had borne (not born ) his ordeal with great courage ; the following points should be borne in mind

Commonly Confused

Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between born and borne as past participles of the verb bear1 . Borne is the past participle in all senses that do not refer to physical birth: The wheatfields have borne abundantly this year. Judges have always borne a burden of responsibility. Borne is also the participle when the sense is “to bring forth (young)” and the focus is on the mother rather than on the child. In such cases, borne is preceded by a form of have or followed by by: Anna had borne a son the previous year. Two children borne by her earlier were already grown. When the focus is on the offspring or on something brought forth as if by birth, born is the standard spelling, and it occurs only in passive constructions: My friend was born in Ohio. No children have been born at the South Pole. A strange desire was born of the tragic experience. Born is also an adjective meaning “by birth,” “innate,” or “native”: born free; a born troublemaker; Mexican-born.

Other Word Forms

• preborn
  adjective
• self-born
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of born

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English boren (past participle of beran “to give birth”), equivalent to bor- past participle stem + -en past participle suffix; see bear ¹, -en ³

Explanation

When a baby is born, she comes into the world through birth. If you say, "I was born in July," that's the month in which your mother gave birth to you. You can talk about a newly born baby or ask your friend what year she was born. Even ideas or organizations can be described this way: "My book group was born in 2005." If you're a really good bowler, you can also say you were born to do it, or that you're a "born bowling champion." The Old English root of born is boren, the past participle of beran, "to bring, bear, or produce."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

born Born

Fortunately, I have a close relationship with both my niece and her mother, and I’ve also been able to help support my niece’s education through a 529 plan established when she was born.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

CEO nicknames often are born of job cuts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

When Russia invaded, 55-year-old Trotsenko -- who was born in Soviet Kazakhstan -- switched from making car charging stations to military robots.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

“If you are born in America, you are American — period. The Constitution says it and the Supreme Court has affirmed it,” Schumer said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Papa said that I was born first, and he never saw a healthier boy.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Born in Iran, he grew up in the U.S. and has worked at Novo for more than two decades, mostly in Europe.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Born on July 14, 1946, Pastore served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War before earning a university degree in drama.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Born and raised in south London, Traore was naturally athletic and tried many sports.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Born in the former Soviet Union and raised in Israel, Sutskever was a math prodigy who made his name as a graduate student in Canada studying under the Nobel Prize-winning AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Born in Moscow, Svetlana knew she wanted to be a pilot at age 16.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson