birth pang

noun

1

: one of the regularly recurrent pains that are characteristic of childbirth

—usually plural

2

birth pangs plural : disorder and distress incident especially to a major social change

Examples of birth pang in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because the ending of what feels like the end of the world is actually just the birth pangs of a new creation. — Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025

Such monstrosities, we were told, were merely the birth pangs of a new and mostly peaceful nation. — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

The new Germany couldn’t tell its birth pangs from its death rattles. — Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Sep. 2024

And the Affordable Care Act, for all of its birth pangs and flaws and the Republican efforts to repeal it, remains the law of the land. — Peter Baker, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

His knack for conveying compositional struggle ingeniously reflects his theme — a nation’s birth pangs. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for birth pang

• harangue
• orang
• bang
• chuang
• clang
• dang
• drang
• fang
• gang
• gangue
• hang
• hange

Medical Definition

birth pang

noun

: one of the regularly recurrent pains that are characteristic of childbirth

—usually used in plural