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 Nazi Party, led by Goebbels as the gauleiter of the German capital, railed against the film, which premiered in Berlin in December 1930, and on December 11, the Supreme Film Board gave in to SA intimidation and banned it. —Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025

On Friday, Bray announced that the Indiana Senate would not reconvene in December to proceed with redrawing the state’s congressional map. —David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 17 Nov. 2025

Another cut is possible for the bank's final meeting in December, too. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025

Kings Island's WinterFest will run on select dates from November 28 to December 31. —Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 Nov. 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.