newborn

American  

[noo-bawrn, nyoo-] / ˈnuˈbɔrn, ˈnju- /

adjective

1. recently or only just born.

2. born anew; reborn.

   a newborn faith in human goodness.

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noun

newborn, plural newborns plural

1. a newborn infant; neonate.

newborn British  

/ ˈnjuːˌbɔːn /

adjective

1. 1. recently or just born

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the newborn

2. (of hope, faith, etc) reborn

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• newborn
  plural
• newborns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of newborn

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at new, born

Explanation

A newborn is literally a baby animal (including us human animals) who was born in the past month. Figuratively, newborn describes anything recently born or created, like a newborn interest in vocabulary. Little babies are newborns until they're a month old — four weeks is the official human newborn cut-off age. Then they’re just regular ol’ babies. Other things can be newborn as long as they’re brand new — a newborn restaurant was opened recently, a newborn celebrity might be 18 but she just got famous. You could have a newborn fear if you recently became scared of something. Most newborns are not scary, though. (Unless you’re babysitting one.)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

newborn newborns

The “Bottle Rocket” actor and his partner brought their newborn daughter in a carrier to the Newport Beach reception and introduced her to Wilson’s castmates and other attendees, per the outlets’ sources.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Farah's model suggests that some of the material blasted outward by the explosion later fell back toward the newborn magnetar, forming an accretion disk.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

Raising a child is hectic and it’s possible the parents and guardians of a newborn might learn of the account and its $1,000 starter money later on.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

Ann Keen, a former Labour health minister, said her newborn son was abruptly taken away after she gave birth in Wales in 1966 when she was 17.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Cudgeon smiled, newborn confidence peeping through his apprehension.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Hospitals already work with the agency to assign Social Security numbers to newborns under a program known as Enumeration at Birth.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

While it was announced that SMA screening would be introduced from October 2026 - three months earlier than initially planned - it will only be available to 72% of newborns in the UK.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

These included some types of limb surgery, kidney stone pain, pain following tonsil removal, and pain experienced by newborns using assisted breathing devices.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 9, 2026

Goodstein said that a quarter of those were women, while nearly 10 percent were children, including unaccompanied minors and newborns.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

You had on one of those tiny blue-and-pink caps they put on newborns.

From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson