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

Rome opened two new subway stations, including one located directly under the Colosseum, earlier in December. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025

Historically, Colorado only builds about 20% of its total snowpack between October and the end of December, leaving the potential for 80% of this season's accumulation ahead. —Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 30 Dec. 2025

Ollinger’s next scheduled hearing is now set for December 30. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Dec. 2025

To be more precise, Netflix is dropping episode eight on December 31 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET. —Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 29 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.