January
noun
Jan·u·ary
ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 
-ˌwe-rē
plural Januaries or Januarys
: the first month of the Gregorian calendar
Examples of January in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
More than 100 Democratic lawmakers also signed onto a letter opposing the commission back in January as powerful groups such as the AFL-CIO and AARP voiced their concerns.
—
Kevin Freking, Fortune, 11 May 2024
Ripa revealed the story behind Lola’s name during a January 2022 episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan.
—Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024
Court records also show that in December and January, David Knezevich sold seven of the homes to a single buyer for nearly $7 million.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 11 May 2024
But in January, after much sturm and drang by preservationists, the Monroe residence scored a reprieve when the L.A. city council unanimously voted to consider the house for historic preservation, prompting the building department to revoke the couple’s demolition.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Jane Jordan was Burns Harbor’s town clerk for 20 years and her husband, Kurt, started his first term on the town council in January.
—Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2024
Piper’s family filed a lawsuit against Monaco in January, alleging that Monaco did not even attempt to brake and that eight other cars managed to avoid hitting Piper.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2024
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch Friday evening for the first time since January 2005, The (Columbia) State reported.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 11 May 2024
The gold timepiece comes A-lister approved, too: Irish actor Barry Keoghan wore the reference to the Governors Awards in January.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2024
Kevin Freking, Fortune, 11 May 2024
Ripa revealed the story behind Lola’s name during a January 2022 episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan.
—Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024
Court records also show that in December and January, David Knezevich sold seven of the homes to a single buyer for nearly $7 million.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 11 May 2024
But in January, after much sturm and drang by preservationists, the Monroe residence scored a reprieve when the L.A. city council unanimously voted to consider the house for historic preservation, prompting the building department to revoke the couple’s demolition.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Jane Jordan was Burns Harbor’s town clerk for 20 years and her husband, Kurt, started his first term on the town council in January.
—Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2024
Piper’s family filed a lawsuit against Monaco in January, alleging that Monaco did not even attempt to brake and that eight other cars managed to avoid hitting Piper.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2024
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch Friday evening for the first time since January 2005, The (Columbia) State reported.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 11 May 2024
The gold timepiece comes A-lister approved, too: Irish actor Barry Keoghan wore the reference to the Governors Awards in January.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'January.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near January
Cite this Entry
“January.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/January. Accessed 14 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
January
noun
Jan·u·ary
ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē
: the first month of the year
Etymology
from Latin Januarius "first month of the year," from Janus, a Roman god
Word Origin
Among the many gods worshipped by the ancient Romans was one named Janus. He was believed to have two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Janus was associated with doors, gates, and all beginnings. Because of that, when the Romans changed their calendar and added two months to the beginning of the year, they named the first one Januarius to honor Janus. The English January comes from Latin Januarius.
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