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

In December, someone sent Anne a video of her son warning other Africans not to travel to Russia for any job offers. —Larry Madowo, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026

The gathering comes as car shoppers paid a record average of $50,326 for new cars in December 2025, according to Kelley Blue Book. —Keith Laing, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026

Kennedy denied using any slurs at a December press conference, a claim reiterated in the lawsuit. —Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 4 Feb. 2026

After a rough stretch in late December and most of January, the Stars have gotten back on track, tying their longest win streak of the season. —Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026

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.