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

"However, when the baby was born and we went to get the birth certificate, the name Dunyo was no longer there" after the update, she said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 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

The Guardian reported that the private investigators attempted to access the alleged victim’s private travel history and her son’s birth certificate, and uncovered some of her online passwords.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

He made a declaration of parentage application to the Family Court after discovering a couple he donated sperm to had named the mother's partner as the father on the baby's birth certificate.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

“Why don’t you just skip ten and go right to eleven? Or tell everybody your birth certificate was wrong and you just found out you’re really twenty-one.”

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli