newborn

1 of 2

adjective

Synonyms of newbornnext
1
: recently born
2
: born anew

newborn

2 of 2

noun

plural newborn or newborns
: a newborn individual

Examples of newborn in a Sentence

Adjective felt like a newborn activist after that pep rally Noun a mother goat and all of her newborn intentionally bought clothes that were too big for her newborn but which undoubtedly would fit him in a few months
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
In a black-and-white photo, Maluma can be seen holding his newborn baby in one arm while draping the other around Gomez, pressing his forehead to hers. Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026 Part of her role is helping train about a dozen doctors and nurses in Butembo on how to adjust this care for pediatric and newborn patients. Durrie Bouscaren, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026
Noun
Healey will seek $2 million to expand free, voluntary nurse home visits to all families of roughly 68,000 newborns a year, offering help with infant care and postpartum screening. Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 While the basic cycle may sound straightforward, newborns can quickly turn a predictable night into something much more demanding. Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for newborn

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1786, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of newborn was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Newborn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/newborn. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

newborn

1 of 2 adjective
1
: recently born
2
: born anew

newborn

2 of 2 noun
plural newborn or newborns
: a newborn individual

Medical Definition

newborn

1 of 2 adjective
1
: recently born
a newborn infant
2
: affecting or relating to the newborn

newborn

2 of 2 noun
plural newborn or newborns
: a newborn infant : neonate
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!