December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

dē-

: the 12th month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of December in a Sentence

Her birthday is in late December.

This December was not as cold as the past few Decembers have been.

Recent Examples on the Web

The company’s stock rose as much as 5% in Hong Kong before paring some gains to close at the strongest level since mid-December. —Bloomberg News, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026

In December, the median projection among Fed officials was for just one rate cut this year. —Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 28 Jan. 2026

The stretch when the Leafs got points in 12 of 13 games from late December into early January feels like a mirage. —Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026

After mass protests in Iran erupted in December and continued to escalate into the new year, the government shut down internet access throughout the country. —Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, from Old English or Anglo-French, both from Latin December (tenth month), from decem ten — more at ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for December

• dismember
• nonmember
• november
• remember
• september
• ember
• member

Kids Definition

December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

: the twelfth month of the year

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, December "last month of the year," from early French decembre (same meaning), from Latin December, literally, "tenth month," from decem "ten" — related to decimal, dime

Word Origin

In the first calendar used by the ancient Romans, the year began with the month of March. The Romans called the tenth month of the year December, using the Latin word decem, meaning "ten." When the word was borrowed into early French, it became decembre. That was also how it was first spelled when it came into Middle English. In time, however, the English word was changed to match the original Latin in spelling and in having a capital letter.