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 mercury isn't the only thing registering as chilly this December. —Chris Tye, CBS News, 9 Dec. 2025

House and Senate Republican leaders later decided to convene during these two weeks in December. —Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 9 Dec. 2025

The two men had a long, friendly dinner at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 8 Dec. 2025

There was already plenty of snow on the ground during our early December visit, which also came with far fewer crowds than a midwinter vacation. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2025

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.