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

Leonard led the Clippers (25-28) with 24 points after scoring 41 in a blowout win in December in the last meeting between the teams. —Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026

Consumer spending in December was weaker than expected, according to Commerce Department data. —John Towfighi, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026

In December, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in show, a war reporter for the Kremlin’s main propaganda channel asked why the military had failed to develop its own version of this weapon after nearly four years of war. —Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

After a run of three losses in four fights, Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs) defeated Anthony Velazquez by unanimous decision in December, and reportedly will line up another fight prior to fighting Spence. —Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 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.