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

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 June, the company signed an agreement to explore a field in Lake Maracaibo, the birthplace of Venezuela's oil industry.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Domino's Pizza closed its last outlets in Italy - the birthplace of pizza - in 2022 after facing stiff competition from local restaurants since it opened there seven years earlier.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

“We have beaten England! England, the birthplace of giants!” he shouted into his mic in Norwegian.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

A week after his passing, Garfield was peacefully laid to rest in a vault a few miles from his birthplace.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

The answer lies in a process called "radial migration" -- stars gradually moving outward from their birthplaces by interacting with spiral waves in the Galaxy.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026

Campaigners have bid to give the birthplaces of The Beatles registered status and get official recognition for "where it all started".

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023

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

More than a century after the momentous events of 1901, the narrator enjoys visiting Mingherian patriots’ birthplaces that have since been turned into museums.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2022

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