birth certificate

American  

noun

• birth certificates
  plural

1. an official form recording the birth of a baby and containing pertinent data, as name, sex, date, place, and parents.

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birth certificate British  

noun

1. an official form giving details of the time and place of a person's birth, and his or her name, sex, mother's name and (usually) father's name

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• birth certificates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of birth certificate

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

birth certificate

She delivered the baby and was listed as the mother on the birth certificate, even though she had no genetic connection to the child.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

"Since I'm not Sudanese, I have no birth certificate, so... I can't go there," she explained.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

“If your family is homeless and sleeping in your car, you’re not really focused on where’s my birth certificate, where’s my documentation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

I’m moving to Canada or Iceland or the south of France; I need to find my grandmother’s birth certificate and apply for dual citizenship.

From Salon ● May 31, 2026

No one could prove he was lying since he’d been born on the home-house floor and didn’t have a birth certificate or social security card.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot