January

noun

Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 

-ˌwe-rē

plural Januaries or Januarys

: the first month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of January in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In doing so, MLS changes its primary player acquisition window from winter (December/January) to summer (June/July). — John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Both have driven over 20B minutes of viewership on streaming platforms from January through June. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026

And in January 2026, the country issued its first golden passport. — Brittany Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026

The agreements submitted to Congress for debate next January could contain statutory reforms that would enable more effective review of medical software — including open-source software. — Dana P. Goldman, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Januarie, from Latin Januarius, 1st month of the ancient Roman year, from Janus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for January

• askari
• astbury
• azeri
• banbury
• barberry
• blackberry
• blueberry
• canary
• cranberry
• dentary
• dewberry
• dogberry

Kids Definition

January

noun

Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 

: the first month of the year

Etymology

from Latin Januarius "first month of the year," from Janus, a Roman god

Word Origin

Among the many gods worshipped by the ancient Romans was one named Janus. He was believed to have two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Janus was associated with doors, gates, and all beginnings. Because of that, when the Romans changed their calendar and added two months to the beginning of the year, they named the first one Januarius to honor Janus. The English January comes from Latin Januarius.