birth control
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of birth control
First recorded in 1905–10; popularized in 1914 by Margaret Sanger ( 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.
Around a decade later, when Danovich went to a clinic for another IUD—a small, T-shaped birth control device that’s inserted past the cervix into the uterus—she asked the doctor for pain medication.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
Reliable birth control allowed women to plan careers with a predictability long afforded to men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Father-of-five Jason Day jokingly described the occasion as "a circus", with Clark adding: "As a man with no kids I'll say it's great birth control but it's a lot of fun."
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
For example, during a 40-minute panel hosted by Alexis Joel, the wife of musician Billy Joel, several doctors raised concerns about how frequently hormonal birth control is used to treat women’s health symptoms.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
I came in late, repeatedly and with the flimsiest of excuses; made shockingly incorrect change; even misshelved things on purpose, stocking lotions among laxatives and birth control with baby shampoo.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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.
