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:
The restaurant occupied a sprawling shopping center alongside an Olive Garden, a Cabela’s and a Costco, making it something of a regional mecca for homecoming dinners, birthday parties and Little League victories.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
From there I headed south for a friend’s planned birthday party on the sand in Newport Beach, but city streets had been flooded and beaches were closed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Rethink your birthday plans: As a kid, you get a birthday party.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
On July 3, 1926, Marie Weirich celebrated her 40th birthday at the family apartment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Sorry, Jonah,” Dad says, his pointed stare glued on me, “but the deal’s off if Lexie’s not on board. He’s her birthday present, after all.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Then I had one of those milestone birthdays earlier this year that makes you think about life, death and, hopefully, retirement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Volunteer bakers are paying out of their own pockets so children in need do not go without a cake on their birthdays.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Since then, I’ve baked the cake for countless weddings, birthdays and gender reveals.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
While some teenagers may mark their 18th birthdays by buying a lottery ticket or getting a first tattoo, Deon Radcliff Jr. had different priorities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
On their birthdays they grant the world an entire paragraph.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
