birth

1 of 3

noun

ˈbərth 

plural births

1

a

: the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent see also date of birth

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

birth

2 of 3

verb

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

birth

3 of 3

adjective

: biological sense 3

his birth mother

Synonyms of birth

Noun

• nativity
• parenting

Verb

• produce
• have
• deliver
• mother

Adjective

• biological

Examples of birth in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

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

Adjective

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Many fertility clinics require the carrier’s birth records to be reviewed. —Ann Marie Luft, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 May 2026

Granada Hills baseball coach Matt Matuszak has spent each night this week sleeping on a couch in the hospital after his wife gave birth to the family’s first child, a girl. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

Verb

Mbappé has sought to give back to the community that birthed a superstar, working through the years with a number of charities and launching a children’s foundation called Inspired By KM. —Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026

Silvia and Guojun were now attempting to assert custody rights over the infant there, along with the newborns whom surrogates had recently birthed in Georgia and Virginia. —Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 11 May 2026

Adjective

Newborn sperm whales are negatively buoyant, making this post-birth support crucial to the calf’s survival. —Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2026

Klobuchar successfully lobbied for Minnesota to expand the minimum post-birth hospital stay to 48 hours, and it has since been relayed into a federal law. —Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1831, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1958, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing birth

• accident of birth
• birth canal
• birth certificate
• birth chart
• birth control
• birth-control pill
• birth date
• birth defect
• birth father
• birth mother
• birth pang
• birth parent
• birth rate
• date of birth
• give birth
• give birth to
• live birth
• multiple birth
• partial-birth abortion
• virgin birth
• wrongful birth

Rhymes for birth

• berth
• dearth
• earth
• firth
• girth
• mirth
• worth
• afterbirth
• childbirth
• rebirth
• stillbirth
• tamworth

Kids Definition

birth

noun

ˈbərth

1

a

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

b

: the act or process of bringing forth young from the uterus

2

: descent sense 1, lineage

noble birth

3

: beginning sense 1, origin

Medical Definition

birth

1 of 3 noun

ˈbərth 

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

2 of 3 transitive verb

: 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

3 of 3 adjective

: biological sense 3

spent years searching for his birth parents