Birmingham
Americannoun
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a city in West Midlands, in central England.
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a city in central Alabama.
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a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.
noun
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an industrial city in central England, in Birmingham unitary authority, in the West Midlands: the second largest city in Great Britain; two cathedrals; three universities (1900, 1966, 1992). Pop: 970 892 (2001) informal Brummie
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a unitary authority in central England, in the West Midlands. Pop: 992 100 (2003 est). Area: 283 sq km (109 sq miles)
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an industrial city in N central Alabama: rich local deposits of coal, iron ore, and other minerals. Pop: 236 620 (2003 est)
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Birmingham was the site of extreme racial violence during the civil rights movement. Although associated with specific race riots in 1963, Birmingham came to represent, as a whole, southern white resistance to integration. (See “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”)
Birmingham is known as the “Pittsburgh of the South” for its steel and iron production.
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.
Parts of east Birmingham are a stark example of a national dilemma: why are so many working-age people currently out of work?
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Theresa Blair, 24, from Birmingham, graduated from Aston University in 2025 with a pharmacy masters.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new low-temperature approach to hydrogen production that could make the clean fuel cheaper and more practical to generate.
From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026
The Liverpool academy product has previously been on loan at Birmingham City and Stoke City, where he predominantly played on the left flank.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
I had a sneaking suspicion that one way or another I would not be spending another night aboard the CSS Birmingham.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
