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birth

[ burth ]
/ bɜrθ /
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See synonyms for: birth / birthed / birthing on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object) Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.
to give birth to.
to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.
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Idioms about birth

    give birth to,
    1. to bear (a child).
    2. to initiate; originate: Her hobby gave birth to a successful business.

Origin of birth

1150–1200; Middle English byrthe<Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd,Old High German giburt,Gothic gabaurths

OTHER WORDS FROM birth

mul·ti·birth, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH birth

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

How to use birth in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for birth

birth
/ (bɜːθ) /

noun
verb (tr) rare
to bear or bring forth (a child)

Word Origin for birth

C12: from Old Norse byrth; related to Gothic gabaurths, Old Swedish byrdh, Old High German berd child; see bear 1, bairn
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

birth
[ bûrth ]

Noun
The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes.
Adjective
Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with birth

birth

see give birth to.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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