born

¹

[bawrn]

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.

verb

1. a past participle of bear.

Born

²

[bawrn]

noun

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

born

¹

/ bɔːn /

verb

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

2. is not gullible or foolish

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

/ 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

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

Confusables Note

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

• preborn adjective
• self-born adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of born¹

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; bear ¹, -en ³

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. born yesterday, naive; inexperienced.

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

More idioms and phrases containing born

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

Example Sentences

Patrick James got his start in business in Malaysia, where he was born.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In November 2022, the last government launched a route to British citizenship for the descendants of those born on the Chagos Archipelago.

Read more on BBC

Stocks and corporate bonds are born when companies wish to raise funds, and are willing to give up either part ownership or interest to do so.

Read more on Barron's

Both of Wong’s grandmothers, who were born in the U.S., lost their citizenship when they married male Chinese nationals — the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which went into effect in 1882.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In L.A., a lot of Latinos that were born here didn’t have the chance to learn Spanish or practice it as much, but they love the culture.

Read more on Los Angeles Times