noun
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an anniversary of the day of one's birth
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( as modifier )
birthday present
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the day on which a person was born
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any anniversary
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of birthday
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at birth, day
Explanation
Your birthday is the day of your birth! It’s the yearly anniversary that marks the day you were born. Not everyone celebrates, but a birthday is a good excuse for a party and cake. You can use birthday both to refer to the specific day of a baby's birth, and the annual marking of that day throughout the years that follow. Sometimes people talk about the birthday of a country, group, or even a building: "It's the art museum's fiftieth birthday next year." The Old English byrddæg originally referred to the celebration of a king or saint's birth, but over the years it was extended to include everyone.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The mother-of-two, married to an economics professor with a ponytail, is a fan of heavy metal band System of a Down and held a "Sex and the City"-themed party for her 40th birthday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Another recalled a parent who successfully lobbied to ban cupcakes from classroom birthday celebrations—only to protest when she was later barred from sending cupcakes for her own child’s birthday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Speaking to BBC Scotland News the day after his sister would have celebrated her 36th birthday, he said GPS monitoring would "absolutely make a difference".
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Slate was one of the first news outlets I read regularly, so I’m really enjoying the birthday throwback.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026
It feels right that this is the first thing I do on my fifteenth birthday.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
As Loretta Savery’s longtime jeweler, Nelson Holdo remembered the little details: birthdays and anniversaries, where her sons went to college, their majors and if they had girlfriends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Swimming pools, playgrounds and birthdays are recurring subjects for Mr. Adams, and we can see him drawing from the likes of David Hockney, Alex Katz and Robert Colescott.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Every year, we give each of our daughters and sons-in-law $100 for their birthdays.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
"For me that meant no bedtime hugs, no bedtime stories, no Christmases, no birthdays," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
They all understood that she meant in case there were no more birthdays.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
