birthday

[burth-dey]

noun

1. the anniversary of a birth.

2. the day of a person's birth.

3. a day marking or commemorating the origin, founding, or beginning of something.

4. the festivities or celebration marking such a day or anniversary.

birthday

/ ˈbɜːθˌdeɪ /

noun

1. 1. an anniversary of the day of one's birth

   2. ( as modifier )

      birthday present

2. the day on which a person was born

3. any anniversary

Word History and Origins

Origin of birthday¹

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

Example Sentences

The festival first took place in 2006 to celebrate Sir Malcolm's 85th birthday, but he died two weeks before so it became a "celebration of his life".

Read more on BBC

The 52nd annual Daytime Emmys was held on Friday in Pasadena, California, but Sir David - who is eight months away from his 100th birthday - was not in attendance.

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Large-cap outperformance has become particularly acute since the start of the current bull market, which celebrated its third birthday last weekend.

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In August, the day before her 31st birthday, she had surgery to have her kidney removed.

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Freymond himself helped to organize the birthday celebration, which took place in Spain.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal