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

Miran, whose term runs until January 2026, has argued that tariffs won’t fuel inflation, a stance aligned with Trump’s push for lower interest rates. —Benzinga, Freep.com, 9 Aug. 2025

Madrid opened negotiations in January to extend Vinicius Jr’s contract, which was renewed in 2022 until 2027. —Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2025

Vantage would also take on the city's engineering, legal, financial and planning consultant fees, as well as its payments to the Town of Port Washington required by a January 2025 annexation agreement, which includes $150,000 each year for five years and extending utilities to Knellsville. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 9 Aug. 2025

The mall closed in January 2015, with the exception of Carson Pirie Scott, which shut its doors abruptly in March 2018. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2025

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

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

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.