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 grassroots organization People Over Profit NYC launched after co-founder Ico Ahiycodae attended a Mangione court appearance in December and spoke with other protestors. —Lorena O'Neil, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2025

In December 2024, Clone Robotics revealed Alpha, its first humanoid designed to walk with natural motion. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Nov. 2025

Season 6 of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman hits Netflix in December. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025

Oscar Stop-off Unfolding just days before the preliminary voting period for the 98th Academy Awards, running from December 9 to 14, Marrakech is an important stop-off for films in the running. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 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.