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

Guests booking stays between September 12 and December 25, 2025, can selecg the Experience More package, receiving a resort credit of up to USD $800 on dining, wellness, and curated in-residence experiences. —Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

After further evaluation and an MRI, it was revealed Burrow had a Grade 3 turf toe injury, meaning surgery was unavoidable and he'd be sidelined until December. —Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025

The clash over the composition of the Fed board casts uncertainty over the Fed's meeting on Wednesday, where officials are expected to announce the central bank's first rate cut since December. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2025

According to a Manhattan Supreme Court foreclosure suit filed in December that names both Bill and Camille, the pair stopped making payments on the loans in June 2024 in addition to failing to pay over $300,000 in property taxes. —Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 15 Sep. 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.