birth
Americannoun
-
births
plural
-
an act or instance of being born.
the day of his birth.
-
the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition.
a difficult birth.
-
lineage; extraction; descent.
of Grecian birth.
-
high or noble lineage.
to be foolishly vain about one's birth.
-
natural heritage.
a musician by birth.
-
any coming into existence; origin; beginning.
the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.
- Synonyms:
- inauguration, genesis, inception, commencement, start
-
Archaic. something that is born.
verb (used with object)
-
births,
present (3rd person singular)
-
birthed,
past participle, past
-
birthing
present participle
-
to give birth to.
-
to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.
idioms
noun
-
the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirth
-
the act or fact of being born; nativity
-
the coming into existence of something; origin
-
ancestry; lineage
of high birth
-
noble ancestry
a man of birth
-
natural or inherited talent
an artist by birth
-
archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
-
-
to bear (offspring)
-
to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
-
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
birthsimple
-
birthssimple
-
have birthedperfect
-
has birthedperfect
-
am birthingprogressive
-
are birthingprogressive
-
is birthingprogressive
-
have been birthingperfect progressive
-
has been birthingperfect progressive
Past
-
birthedsimple
-
had birthedperfect
-
was birthingprogressive
-
were birthingprogressive
-
had been birthingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of birth
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English byrthe, from Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd, Old High German giburt, Gothic gabaurths; cf. bear 1 ( def. ), -th 1 ( def. )
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:
This year, Barron’s has published a series of articles linking the birth and growth of America with the rise of financial markets.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
There are still cases where children still need to be removed from birth parents.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Fleck announced that the triumph over the Wolverines was the “best day” of his life besides his marriage and the birth of his children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
He started only 15 different players across the four games with two of his changes enforced by Ballard's injury and Ethan Galbraith's absence against Ukraine to attend the birth of his child.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
“A rumpel is deep magic. If it has been the boy’s state since birth, it would be all the stronger.”
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Based on the age of first-child births, the median age of grandmotherhood rose from 44 in 1960 to 57 in 2024, “cutting the healthy years with grandchildren from 28 to 15.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
They offer deinfibulation - a procedure that can be carried out during pregnancy that to separate fused tissue and enable safer births.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The number of births have been falling in Scotland over the last 20 years, as have the number of babies who need intensive care, according to the available NHS data.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Since 2020, Florida has seen its total number of births increase roughly 8.5%, more than any other state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Somewhat to Dad’s disappointment, there were no twins or other multiple births.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Sociology is in many ways the mother of all social sciences, she who hath birthed dozens of disciplines ranging from criminology to postcolonial studies to ethnic studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Its complexity has birthed an industry of affordable-housing-focused developers, investors, lawyers and accounting specialists who profit off the tax credit.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
It also created the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network that ultimately birthed the internet.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
To display his photographs in rapid succession, Muybridge invented a device that birthed the motion picture.
From Slate ● May 25, 2026
“She died when she birthed me. Alys came, they said, and helped, but I was big and she labored too long, and bled, and she died. It happens sometimes.”
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
Zika can spread from a birthing parent to their child in the womb and cause congenital disabilities, which notoriously led to panic after an outbreak erupted in Brazil in 2015.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Like the spine, the human pelvis must balance two competing demands: efficient bipedal walking and birthing large-brained infants.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
To reduce the screwworm risk on the ranch he co-owns and manages, Diebel plans to push the birthing season for his calves to colder months when the flies are less active.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The state plans to later expand to additional hospitals and birthing centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
“After a while, when I was deemed ready, I moved into the birthing unit.”
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
