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

The full court reheard the case in January 2024, and in October 2024 ruled 9-8 that the NLRB had no power to order the tweet removed, citing the First Amendment. — Heather Occhino, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026

The Biden administration subsequently extended the designation, most recently in January 2025, when DHS authorized an additional 18 months of protection through October 2026. — Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026

No Refunds drops January 15, 2027, just over two years after Lambrini Girls shared their 2025 debut Who Let The Dogs Out. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026

Airbus had nearly 9,000 commercial aircraft on order as of January 2026, while Boeing had more than 6,000 as of July 2026. — Naveen Poonian, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026

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

• askari
• astbury
• azeri
• banbury
• barberry
• blackberry
• blueberry
• canary
• cranberry
• dentary
• dewberry
• dogberry

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.