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• born
  born

  adjective

  brought forth by birth.
• Born
  Born

  noun

  Max, 1882–1970, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1954.

born

¹ American  

[bawrn] / bɔrn /

adjective

1. brought forth by birth.

2. possessing from birth the quality, circumstances, or character stated.

   a born musician; a born fool.

3. native to the locale stated; immigrated to the present place from the locale stated.

   a German-born scientist; a Chicago-born New Yorker.

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verb

1. a past participle of bear.

idioms

1. born yesterday, naive; inexperienced.

   You can't fool me with that old trick—I wasn't born yesterday.

Born ² American  

[bawrn] / bɔrn /

noun

1. Max, 1882–1970, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1954.

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born ¹ British  

/ bɔːn /

verb

1. the past participle (in most passive uses) of bear 1

2. is not gullible or foolish

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adjective

1. possessing or appearing to have possessed certain qualities from birth

   a born musician

2. 1. being at birth in a particular social status or other condition as specified

      ignobly born

   2. ( in combination )

      lowborn

3. informal so far in one's life

Born ² British  

/ bɔːn /

noun

1. Max . 1882–1970, British nuclear physicist, born in Germany, noted for his fundamental contribution to quantum mechanics: Nobel prize for physics 1954

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born More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing born

• in all one's born days
• not born yesterday
• to the manner born

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Usage

Care should be taken not to use born where borne is intended: he had borne (not born ) his ordeal with great courage ; the following points should be borne in mind

Commonly Confused

Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between born and borne as past participles of the verb bear1 . Borne is the past participle in all senses that do not refer to physical birth: The wheatfields have borne abundantly this year. Judges have always borne a burden of responsibility. Borne is also the participle when the sense is “to bring forth (young)” and the focus is on the mother rather than on the child. In such cases, borne is preceded by a form of have or followed by by: Anna had borne a son the previous year. Two children borne by her earlier were already grown. When the focus is on the offspring or on something brought forth as if by birth, born is the standard spelling, and it occurs only in passive constructions: My friend was born in Ohio. No children have been born at the South Pole. A strange desire was born of the tragic experience. Born is also an adjective meaning “by birth,” “innate,” or “native”: born free; a born troublemaker; Mexican-born.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-born
  adjective
• preborn
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of born

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English boren (past participle of beran “to give birth”), equivalent to bor- past participle stem + -en past participle suffix; see bear ¹, -en ³

Explanation

When a baby is born, she comes into the world through birth. If you say, "I was born in July," that's the month in which your mother gave birth to you. You can talk about a newly born baby or ask your friend what year she was born. Even ideas or organizations can be described this way: "My book group was born in 2005." If you're a really good bowler, you can also say you were born to do it, or that you're a "born bowling champion." The Old English root of born is boren, the past participle of beran, "to bring, bear, or produce."

Example Sentences

A new business was born, growing by word of mouth.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Research indicates that highly skilled immigrants have bolstered the U.S. economy, where over half of the founders of startups valued over $1 billion were born overseas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who made his F1 debut more than five years before Antonelli was born, said the Italian was "an incredible talent".

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

At that time, lawmakers waited until the 11th hour to put through changes that included gradually raising the age for claiming full benefits to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

“If she was in a rumpel when the boy was born, the magic wouldn’t have died with her. It would affect her child too.”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff