born

[ bawrn ]
See synonyms for born on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. brought forth by birth.

  2. possessing from birth the quality, circumstances, or character stated: a born musician; a born fool.

  1. native to the locale stated; immigrated to the present place from the locale stated: a German-born scientist; a Chicago-born New Yorker.

verb
  1. a past participle of bear1.

Idioms about born

  1. born yesterday, naive; inexperienced: You can't fool me with that old trick—I wasn't born yesterday.

Origin of born

1
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 bear1, -en3

confusables note For born

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 words from born

  • pre·born, adjective
  • self-born, adjective

Words that may be confused with born

  • born , borne (see confusables note at current entry)

Words Nearby born

Other definitions for Born (2 of 2)

Born
[ bawrn ]

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use born in a sentence

  • To reproduce the impulse born of the thought—this is the aim of a psychological method.

    Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge Southwick
  • Elyon is the name of an ancient Phœnician god, slain by his son El, no doubt the “first-born of death” in Job xviii.

    Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel Conway
  • In the spring of 1868 he was taken by his mother for a visit to England, and there, in the same year, his sister was born.

  • This widening grasp of languages is or was within the capacity of nearly everyone born into the world—given the facilities.

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
  • That embrace, that grin and that heart-born exclamation marked the entrance of the Pulsifer family into my life.

British Dictionary definitions for born (1 of 2)

born

/ (bɔːn) /


verb
  1. the past participle (in most passive uses) of bear 1 (def. 4)

  2. was not born yesterday is not gullible or foolish

adjective
  1. possessing or appearing to have possessed certain qualities from birth: a born musician

    • being at birth in a particular social status or other condition as specified: ignobly born

    • (in combination): lowborn

  1. in all one's born days informal so far in one's life

usage For born

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

British Dictionary definitions for Born (2 of 2)

Born

/ (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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with born

born

In addition to the idioms beginning with born

  • born and bred
  • born under a lucky star
  • born with a silver spoon
  • born yesterday

also see:

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.