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

Records indicate Shaw's driver’s license had also been suspended since April 23, 2023, due to unpaid traffic fines, and her car’s registration expired in December 2021. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 11 July 2025

This, soon after the two sides had patched up a rift caused by the shoot-down of a civilian Azeri airplane allegedly by Russia in December. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025

Speculation about their relationship began in early December 2024 when a police report revealed that Ponton had reported a burglary at Burrow's Ohio home. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 10 July 2025

Manfred has said multiple times that offseason lockouts are a norm in professional sports, a point the union has taken to mean a lockout in baseball is a foregone conclusion come December 2026. —Evan Drellich, New York Times, 10 July 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.