midwife

1 of 2

noun

mid·​wife ˈmid-ˌwīf 

1

: a person who assists women in childbirth compare nurse-midwife

2

: one that helps to produce or bring forth something

… thou art the midwife to my woe …

—William Shakespeare

midwife

2 of 2

verb

midwifed ˈmid-ˌwīft  or midwived ˈmid-ˌwīvd  ; midwifing ˈmid-ˌwī-fiŋ  or midwiving ˈmid-ˌwī-viŋ 

transitive verb

: to assist in producing, bringing forth, or bringing about

The month has midwifed all manner of creative genius …

—Steve Rushin

Examples of midwife in a Sentence

Noun

a trained and certified midwife

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the clip, Whitlock is supported by nurses, a midwife and her partner while the boys chase each other and push one another on an IV pole on wheels. —Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025

Crews have already broken ground, leaving rocks and rubble in the road for vehicles to dodge, said Joey Larson, a midwife in Beaver Dam who joined the meeting virtually. —Jordan Novet, CNBC, 25 Nov. 2025

Verb

Nile smelled my bloodlust and midwifed that story into being. —Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 19 Nov. 2025

But the American leaders who midwifed the UN as World War II was still raging were somber realists, not utopians. —Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English midwif, from mid with (from Old English) + wif woman

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1638, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing midwife

• nurse-midwife

Rhymes for midwife

• alewife
• birdlife
• folklife
• housewife
• jackknife
• loosestrife
• midlife
• nightlife
• penknife
• wildlife
• afterlife
• pocketknife

Kids Definition

midwife

noun

mid·​wife

ˈmid-ˌwīf

: a woman who helps other women in childbirth

Medical Definition

midwife

noun

mid·​wife ˈmid-ˌwīf 

: a person who assists women in childbirth see nurse-midwife