birthday

[ burth-dey ]

See synonyms for birthday on Thesaurus.com

noun

the anniversary of a birth.
the day of a person's birth.

a day marking or commemorating the origin, founding, or beginning of something.
the festivities or celebration marking such a day or anniversary.

Origin of birthday

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at birth, day

Words Nearby birthday

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use birthday in a sentence

The pandemic-specific cards came up quickly afterwards, because we heard people saying, “Gosh, birthdays aren’t what they used to be.”
How Hallmark is handling pandemic Valentine’s Day | Luke Winkie | February 12, 2021 | Vox
For a milestone birthday, she bought herself a designer purse, a matching wallet and some brand-name apparel.
Miss Manners: She’s ‘best’ at giving gifts but stinks at receiving them | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | February 4, 2021 | Washington Post
Because of this success, CAMP will create new online shopping experiences for birthday parties, baby showers and holidays like Valentine’s Day.
‘A retail media company’: How CAMP wants its online content to eventually drive customers back to stores | Kayleigh Barber | February 3, 2021 | Digiday
Like their liquor-based counterparts, booze-free drinks can serve to help us discover new flavors or celebrate a special occasion like an anniversary, a birthday, or a new job—or just making it through the work week at your current one.
Keep dry January going all year with these cutting-edge non-alcoholic cocktails | By Dan Q. Dao/Saveur | February 2, 2021 | Popular-Science
It’s what lets you guess why your friend is upset on her birthday.
This Is Where Empathy Lives in the Brain, and How It Works | Shelly Fan | February 2, 2021 | Singularity Hub

They had three years together before Ziad left to do his compulsory military service, leaving on her birthday, April 4, 2001.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda | Ruth Michaelson | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As a result, while Newton was born on December 25, 1642 in England, his birthday was January 4, 1643 everywhere else.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Trolls Christians on Christmas | Ben Jacobs | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A Spaniard by birth, Victor Serna left home shy of his 14th birthday and entered the monastery to become a Marist brother.
Obama’s One Hand Clap With Castro | Doug McIntyre | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Recently a woman successfully crowdfunded to pay off a $360 trip taken on her 26th birthday.
In Defense of Uber’s Awful Sydney Surge Pricing | Olivia Nuzzi | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
So, happy 20th birthday to this proudly silly fashion classic.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress | Tim Teeman | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It will be no more monotonous than having one's seventh birthday or falling in love for the first time.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He gave his cousin a silk dress, and he bought himself a set of books for his birthday; he was thirty-two.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
Musical festival in Westminster abbey, in commemoration of the birthday of Handel.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
A person becomes of age at the beginning of the day before his twenty-first birthday.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
I had a good crying spell on my twenty-fifth birthday and Ive looked through clear eyes ever since.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater

British Dictionary definitions for birthday

birthday

/ (ˈbɜːθˌdeɪ) /

noun

- an anniversary of the day of one's birth
- (as modifier): birthday present
the day on which a person was born

any anniversary

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

Browse