birth
Americannoun
-
births
plural
-
an act or instance of being born.
the day of his birth.
-
the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition.
a difficult birth.
-
lineage; extraction; descent.
of Grecian birth.
-
high or noble lineage.
to be foolishly vain about one's birth.
-
natural heritage.
a musician by birth.
-
any coming into existence; origin; beginning.
the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.
- Synonyms:
- inauguration, genesis, inception, commencement, start
-
Archaic. something that is born.
verb (used with object)
-
births,
present (3rd person singular)
-
birthed,
past participle, past
-
birthing
present participle
-
to give birth to.
-
to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.
idioms
noun
-
the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirth
-
the act or fact of being born; nativity
-
the coming into existence of something; origin
-
ancestry; lineage
of high birth
-
noble ancestry
a man of birth
-
natural or inherited talent
an artist by birth
-
archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
-
-
to bear (offspring)
-
to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
-
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
birthsimple
-
birthssimple
-
have birthedperfect
-
has birthedperfect
-
am birthingprogressive
-
are birthingprogressive
-
is birthingprogressive
-
have been birthingperfect progressive
-
has been birthingperfect progressive
Past
-
birthedsimple
-
had birthedperfect
-
was birthingprogressive
-
were birthingprogressive
-
had been birthingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of birth
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English byrthe, from Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd, Old High German giburt, Gothic gabaurths; cf. bear 1 ( def. ), -th 1 ( def. )
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:
Schalk has had dual-citizenship since birth and has switched his affiliation to Team USA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Michele Heisler, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, gave birth to her first child after going back to medical school at the age of 30.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Even the public versions, which political parties and candidates routinely obtain to target ads and messages, included voters’ addresses, birth dates and party affiliations.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Intricate sculptural groups depict the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus, the Adoration of the Magi and the shepherds, Herod’s massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, Jesus preaching at the temple, and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Just like every other Academy kid, someone who had been entrusted to the Academy by my parents from birth, I’d grown up not owning much.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
This is because many children are being born in complex circumstances, often without the knowledge of the father - meaning their births cannot be registered, explains Abu Bakr Yousif Yaqoub, Nada's director of protection programmes.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
As filming was finishing, the conservancy became home to the first ploughshare births in captivity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Between 2016 and 2023, first births among women 35 and older increased 25%.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The number of births in the U.S. has fallen 9% in the past decade, largely due to fewer women having children in their teens and 20s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Preserved Maya writing was similarly devoted to propaganda, births and accessions and victories of kings, and astronomical observations of priests.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Sociology is in many ways the mother of all social sciences, she who hath birthed dozens of disciplines ranging from criminology to postcolonial studies to ethnic studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Its complexity has birthed an industry of affordable-housing-focused developers, investors, lawyers and accounting specialists who profit off the tax credit.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers spoke about how their love of awards shows birthed Las Culturistas Culture Awards, how they come up with the categories and the evolution of their podcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Some new fortunes were birthed out of Harvard Management, which runs Harvard’s endowment—overseen by uncle and nephew Paul and Walter Cabot in the latter half of the last century.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
“Why, she’s birthed lots of folks around here for years. My mama says my oldest brother wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for Sister Redempta.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Like the spine, the human pelvis must balance two competing demands: efficient bipedal walking and birthing large-brained infants.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
The state plans to later expand to additional hospitals and birthing centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
In the 1920s and 30s the Marine Drive corniche, with its Art Deco buildings was constructed, birthing a uniquely modern architectural style that departed from the earlier Victorian Gothic character.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
Just how far away is that birthing clinic?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
The problem with the sheep was that in the shock and pain of birthing, if she was left in the herd, she would often lose track of her lamb and the lamb would die.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
