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.

births, present (3rd person singular) birthed, past participle, past birthing present participle

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

Derived Forms

• multibirth
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have birthed
  perfect
• has birthed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am birthing
  progressive 1st person singular
• is birthing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• birthing
  participle
• has been birthing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• births
  singular 3rd person
• are birthing
  progressive
• have been birthing
  perfect progressive

Past

• had birthed
  perfect
• was birthing
  progressive singular
• were birthing
  progressive plural
• had been birthing
  perfect progressive
• birthed
  participle
• birthed
  simple

Future

• will birth
  simple
• will have birthed
  perfect
• will be birthing
  progressive
• will have been birthing
  perfect progressive

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; cf. bear ¹ ( def. ), -th ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

In a corner of a ward, on a platform above the dirt floor, the wife of one of the fighters is about to give birth.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Three strategies could help address this exact problem, and the newest one fundamentally changes how families may be able to build generational wealth starting from birth.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

As governments around the world struggle with ways to reverse plunging birth rates, new US studies suggest they have ignored a key culprit -- the smartphone.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

Elaborate sculptures depict the life of Jesus from his birth to his crucifixion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

Fayetteville is Tornado Alley adjacent, in the Arkansas hills just east of the Oklahoma border, and since her parents are Okies by birth, they take the frequent watches and warnings seriously.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• beginning
• childbirth
• creation
• delivery