birth control

[ burthkuhn-trohl ]
See synonyms for birth control on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. regulation of the number of children born through the deliberate control or prevention of conception: She campaigned and went to prison for the right of women to practice birth control.: Compare family planning (def. 1).

  2. a drug, technique, or device used to deliberately control or prevent conception (often used attributively): Diaphragms were a common form of birth control long before the invention of contraceptive pills.Vasectomies are growing in frequency as a birth control method in many countries.

Origin of birth control

1
First recorded in 1905–10; popularized in 1914 by Margaret Sanger

Other words from birth control

  • pro·birth-con·trol, adjective

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

How to use birth control in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for birth control

birth control

noun
  1. limitation of child-bearing by means of contraception: See also family planning

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

Scientific definitions for birth control

birth control

  1. Planned interference with conception in order to control the number of offspring born. Birth control techniques include drugs containing hormones, the diaphragm, and the intrauterine device.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for birth control

birth control

The practice of preventing conception to limit the number of births. (See contraception, family planning, population control, and Margaret Sanger.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.