birthplace

American  

[burth-pleys] / ˈbɜrθˌpleɪs /

noun

• birthplaces
  plural

1. place of birth or origin.

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birthplace British  

/ ˈbɜːθˌpleɪs /

noun

1. the place where someone was born or where something originated

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• birthplaces
  plural

Etymology

Origin of birthplace

First recorded in 1600–10; birth + place

Explanation

The city or country where someone is born is their birthplace. If you move to Atlanta, Georgia, you can tell your friends you live in the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. You'll often find the word birthplace describing the origin of a famous person, whether you're visiting the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Mississippi or reading about Tuskegee, Alabama, the birthplace of Rosa Parks. Birthplace also shows up on official documents like passport applications, which require you to prove your birthplace by submitting a birth certificate. The Middle English version of this word was birthstede, from stede, or "place."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

birthplace birthplaces

Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison faces a pivotal decision: Should he uproot his Hollywood studio — the birthplace of such film classics as “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Godfather” and “Beverly Hills Cop”?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

But “A Nation of Artists” demonstrates that Philadelphia, sometimes called “the birthplace of America,” is a cradle of American art, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

At the other extreme, she becomes artist-in-residence of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, where she will serve as pianist, conductor and curator in Beethoven’s birthplace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

In 1986 Dolly Parton opened Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near her birthplace.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Little is known about his youth, but it seems that Archimedes was born around 287 BC in Samos, Pythagoras’s birthplace.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Some, including the Indus River basin, are also regarded as birthplaces of human civilization.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025

But Fifa said investigators obtained original birth certificates of the grandparents, which showed that they were born in countries like Argentina and Spain - all corresponding with the players' birthplaces.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

Each year, hordes of them surge from the ocean into Canada’s rivers and streams, swimming back to their birthplaces to spawn.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 30, 2023

Some were born here, others traveled here from their various birthplaces chasing something — a dream, or simply peace of mind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2023

There were millions of other Americans who had left their birthplaces in search of a dream.

From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie