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

Heinrichs, Schab and his caretakers flew to Hawaii together in December 2021. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025

This holiday hiatus will be the show's last-ever December break, as CBS announced that The Late Show will permanently end at the conclusion of its current season in May 2026. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025

Religious roots Christmas in the Philippines is deeply rooted in Christianity, which commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25. —Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 22 Dec. 2025

Best Time to Visit The best time to visit Barbados is between December and early April, when the skies and seas are the clearest and calmest. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 22 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.