birth

noun, often attributive \ ˈbərth \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: birth in a Sentence

Definition of birth

1 a : the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent

b : the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb

2 : a state resulting from being born especially at a particular time or place

a Southerner by birth

3 a : lineage, extraction

b : high or noble birth

4 a archaic : one that is born

b : beginning, start

See birth defined for English-language learners

See birth defined for kids

Examples of birth in a Sentence

He was present at the birth of his daughter.
The hospital reported an increase in premature births.
Please indicate your date of birth.
the period from birth to adolescence
a disease that is present at birth
the birth of the solar system
the birth of the blues
We are witnessing the birth of a new era.

Recent Examples of birth from the Web

Trump has long professed a special connection to Scotland, the land of his mother's birth.

— jill colvin and paul kelbie, chicagotribune.com, "Trump lies low in Scotland ahead of high-stakes meeting with Putin," 14 July 2018
The birth was riddled with complications, including an emergency C-section, a pulmonary embolism, and ruptured C-section wounds due to the embolism.

— refinery29.com, "Serena Williams Walks Away From Wimbledon With A Glow-Up," 14 July 2018
Blenheim Palace is the birth place of the great wartime British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, of whom the President is a big fan.

— natasha bach, Fortune, "Under President Trump, the U.S.'s 'Soft Power' Is Waning," 13 July 2018
According to Pew Research data, millennial women accounted for 82 percent of US births in 2016.

— megan molteni, WIRED, "This Company Wants Your Fertility Data," 13 July 2018
More: Meet Lucky, an elk whose dramatic birth story will melt your heart Inside Bearizona Canyonlands, a 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a 25-foot waterfall, overlooks the jaguar exhibit.

— scott craven, azcentral, "Bearizona: Top things to do at drive-thru wildlife park in Williams," 12 July 2018
Each of Romero’s Sunday series featured the music of a different composer, often connected to a birth or death anniversary.

— beth wood, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego native Gustavo Romero returns to Athenaeum's Summer Festival for the 20th year," 12 July 2018
The Crusade Against Birth Control Begins This is also about the time when the U.S. government hopped on the anti-birth-control bandwagon that most of the monotheistic religions had been riding since the start of the modern period, Gordon says.

— carolyn todd, Allure, "The History and Evolution of Birth Control in America," 12 July 2018
Kentae, who’d been in state custody since birth had always found solace in water according to a child services employee, splashed.

— joshua sharpe, ajc, "DeKalb dad claims autistic son, 10, killed himself — then admits lie," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'birth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of birth

Middle English, from Old Norse byrth; akin to Old English beran

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

birth Synonyms

Other Embryology Terms

gravid, neonate, ontogeny, parturition

birth

verb

Definition of birth

birthed; birthing; births

transitive verb

1 chiefly dialectal : to bring forth

2 a : to give rise to : originate

b : to give birth to

intransitive verb

: to bring forth or be brought forth as a child or young

Examples of birth in a Sentence

back in those days a woman her age would have birthed several children

Recent Examples of birth from the Web

To Elizabeth's dismay, Mary birthed a son, prolonging her family's bloodline.

— refinery29.com, "Margot Robbie & Saoirse Ronan's Orange Wigs Alone Are Oscar-Worthy In Mary Queen Of Scots Trailer," 12 July 2018
Catalans birthed their culture of associationism by establishing non-governmental groups dedicated to preserving regional traditions.

— elaine heinzman, Smithsonian, "How Soup Nourishes Barcelona’s Tradition of Welcoming Immigrants," 30 June 2018
In the past two-plus months since the cheating reports emerged (and Khloé birthed their baby girl), the earlier rumors about Khloé’s well-being were contradictory, but more recent reports suggest that the couple is happy — or at least working on it.

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "Khloé Kardashian Is Proud Of How She Handled Tristan Thompson’s Cheating Scandal," 25 June 2018
That new studio, a big windowless room that once birthed Figure 8 by Elliott Smith, is now home to the Rado sessions for Weyes Blood's new album.

— steven edelstone, Billboard, "How Foxygen's Jonathan Rado Became One of Indie Rock's Most In-Demand Producers," 19 June 2018
The same competition birthed Andy's Candy Apothecary, Oblivion Comics & Coffee and The Allspicery in recent years.

— benjy egel, sacbee, "She loves milkshakes and history. What better place to open a historical milkshake bar? | The Sacramento Bee," 12 May 2018
Sophisticated satellites will birth better in-flight internet.

— Popular Mechanics, "How To Fix Flying," 18 July 2016
We were birthed as a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and National Geographic.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Nat Geo executives Courteney Monroe, Rachel Webber and Susan Goldberg on Recode Decode," 6 July 2018
In just its first week Infinity War has also already birthed an assortment of memes, as well as a fun website that reveals whether Thanos would have offed or spared you in his campaign to destroy half of all life in the universe.

— emma stefansky, HWD, "Avengers: Infinity War Has Already Made $1 Billion," 5 May 2018

First Known Use of birth

1831

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

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birth

adjective

Definition of birth

: biological 3

his birth mother

Examples of birth in a Sentence

argued that the birth mother had not been informed of all of her options at the time of the adoption

First Known Use of birth

1958

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

birth Synonyms

Synonyms

biological (also biologic), consanguineous, natural;

Antonyms

adopted, adoptive, nonbiological;

Near Antonyms

illegitimate;

Related Words

legitimate;

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

BIRTH Defined for English Language Learners

birth

noun

Definition of birth for English Language Learners

: the time when a baby comes out from the body of its mother
: the beginning or origin of something
—used to describe the kind of family a person comes from

BIRTH Defined for Kids

birth

noun \ ˈbərth \

Definition of birth for Students

1 : the coming of a new individual from the body of its parent

2 : the act of bringing into life

3 : lineage 1

a person of noble birth

4 : origin 3

the birth of a star

Medical Dictionary

birth

noun \ ˈbərth \

medical Definition of birth

1 : the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent

2 : the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb

birth

transitive verb

medical Definition of birth

: to give birth to

allowed to birth her child in her own way
—Nancy Robinson

intransitive verb

: to bring forth or be brought forth as a child or young

contend that birthing is a natural process, rather than a medical procedure
—Kit Miniclier

the baby birthed breech
—Jayne Anne Phillips

birth

adjective

medical Definition of birth

: biological 3

spent years searching for his birth parents

Learn More about birth

See words that rhyme with birth Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for birth Spanish Central: Translation of birth Nglish: Translation of birth for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of birth for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about birth

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birth

Definition of birth

Examples of birth in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of birth

birth Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Embryology Terms

birth

Definition of birth

Examples of birth in a Sentence

Recent Examples of birth from the Web

First Known Use of birth

birth

Definition of birth

Examples of birth in a Sentence

First Known Use of birth

birth Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Medicine Terms

Phrases Related to BIRTH

Related Phrases

BIRTH Defined for English Language Learners

birth

Definition of birth for English Language Learners

BIRTH Defined for Kids

birth

Definition of birth for Students

Medical Dictionary

birth

medical Definition of birth

birth

medical Definition of birth

birth

medical Definition of birth

Learn More about birth

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