birthmark
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of birthmark
Explanation
A birthmark is a permanent spot on your skin, often dark brown colored. The actress Marilyn Monroe was famous for a small birthmark just above her lip. Most birthmarks are present from birth or soon after, and many are pigmented much darker than the surrounding skin. Strawberry and port wine birthmarks, on the other hand, are bright red. The causes of birthmarks vary, but they're almost always harmless. In the 17th century, they were sometimes called "longing marks," supposedly demonstrating the pregnant mother's longing for something before her baby was born.
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:
“Is that red spot on his head a rash or a birthmark I didn’t notice?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
He has the tender, shining eyes of an ingenue while Del Campo, who has a striking birthmark on her cheek, is a femme fatale able to hold her own against Wolff’s selfish, useless playboy.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
Amba, whose birthmark is one of a number of features of Sturge-Weber Syndrome, said finding self-acceptance was an ongoing journey.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2024
In my shower in California, I scrub the soap against a rough white cotton washcloth and move the towel across every limb, every birthmark, every scar.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2023
It was a dark red bruise, deep set, like a birthmark.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Mutations in the skin, for example, occasionally resulted in unusual pigment patterns such as port-wine stain birthmarks.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 15, 2023
Even among humans, identical twins can possess different birthmarks, wrinkles, or other features that arise during development sometimes due to differential gene expression.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
There are my moles, birthmarks shaped like butter beans because my Mom said she used to crave them when she was pregnant with me.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2021
SoCal Connected “Assassin Bugs”; children with facial birthmarks and deformities receive a life-changing experience; hometown mission of Mending Kids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2017
That's why, in Metalwork this morning, I focused on Mr. Murcot's birthmarks like my life depended on it.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
