noun
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an anniversary of the day of one's birth
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( as modifier )
birthday present
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the day on which a person was born
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any anniversary
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of birthday
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at birth, day
Explanation
Your birthday is the day of your birth! It’s the yearly anniversary that marks the day you were born. Not everyone celebrates, but a birthday is a good excuse for a party and cake. You can use birthday both to refer to the specific day of a baby's birth, and the annual marking of that day throughout the years that follow. Sometimes people talk about the birthday of a country, group, or even a building: "It's the art museum's fiftieth birthday next year." The Old English byrddæg originally referred to the celebration of a king or saint's birth, but over the years it was extended to include everyone.
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.
See Examples For:
Uncertain he would reach his 70th birthday, Mr. Moritz today, at 72, is in remission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
It was even flown across the country for an 80th birthday.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
When the Tulane University freshman woke up on his birthday this August, his first order of business as a legal adult was opening a brokerage account and a high-yield savings account.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Reiner argues the statute doesn’t apply because he hasn’t been convicted, and the money he seeks was owed on his 30th birthday, in September 2023, before his parents were killed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Normally, he would be twisting the black-and.silver watch that was his most recent birthday present from Mom, but today his wrist is bare.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Since then, I’ve baked the cake for countless weddings, birthdays and gender reveals.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
He was taking whatever DJ gigs he could get—weddings, milestone birthdays and once a daycare center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
As Loretta Savery’s longtime jeweler, Nelson Holdo remembered the little details: birthdays and anniversaries, where her sons went to college, their majors and if they had girlfriends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
"He used to push me around in my pram. He was always there at family birthdays, and he was always there at Christmas."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Had the government kidnapped those kids in Arizona who had the same names and birthdays as Chess, Emma, and Finn?
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
