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

Google plans to release audio-only ones that will allow users to speak with the Gemini AI assistant, the company said in a blog post in December. —Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2025

How much is the Powerball jackpot tonight, December 15, 2025? —Chris Sims, IndyStar, 16 Dec. 2025

Directed by Scott Ellis, Art, translated by Christopher Hampton, opened at the Music Box Theatre on September 16; the limited engagement will end December 21. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2025

Bieber showed off her fresh cut on Instagram Stories on December 14, posing in the mirror to give us a good, clear look at the new length. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 15 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.