plural births
1
a
: the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent see also date of birth
b
: the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb
2
: a state resulting from being born especially at a particular time or place
a Southerner by birth
3
a
b
: high or noble birth
birthed; birthing; births
1
chiefly dialectal
: to bring forth
2
a
: to give rise to : originate
b
: to give birth to
: to bring forth or be brought forth as a child or young
: biological sense 3
his birth mother
Synonyms
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Examples of birth in a Sentence
Noun
He was present at the birth of his daughter.
The hospital reported an increase in premature births.
Please indicate your date of birth.
the period from birth to adolescence
a disease that is present at birth
the birth of the solar system
the birth of the blues
We are witnessing the birth of a new era.
Verb
back in those days a woman her age would have birthed several children
Adjective
argued that the birth mother had not been informed of all of her options at the time of the adoption
Recent Examples on the Web
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Plus, moms who give birth vaginally might want to use a belly band to get extra support the first few days after giving birth.
—Deanna Pai, Allure, 13 Apr. 2024
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Phillips' birth.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024
And the idea of people giving birth to themselves, as happened at the end of Men, is equally far-fetched.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 12 Apr. 2024
Many are running up against the deadline in light of personal challenges, maybe the birth of a baby, an illness, or a death in the family.
—Detroit Free Press, 12 Apr. 2024
Ethan was abandoned by his mother at birth and placed in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, his home for the next six years.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The bill proposed to limit high school athletes to playing on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
Abortions don’t really happen at birth, according to the non-partisan, non-profit health policy organization KFF.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
While working at a Roman orphanage before becoming a nun circa 1971, American novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) discovers a heinous conspiracy at play: The youth have ditched the Catholic Church and powerful holy men want to birth the Antichrist as an extreme way to bring believers back.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
People have come far and wide to support The Urban Oyster and other restaurants like it and so many individual concepts are being birthed every year and now there’s a plethora of choices!
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The headmaster at the time, James Darling, was inspired by Outward Bound, a movement birthed in Europe before World War II that aimed to build competence and confidence.
—Damien Cave, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
On the most recent episode of VPR, viewers watch as Jax Taylor makes his grand return to the series that birthed his reality TV career after leaving it all behind in 2020.
—Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2024
The couple also had filed a lawsuit against the hospital and obstetrician who helped birth the baby, claiming that complications in the delivery led to the child’s death.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Purpose After birthing a baby, your body (and even your personal identity) is going through a period of change.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 14 Mar. 2024
That night out birthed the idea for the flash mob dance group Ajumma EXP, which Kim founded with her friend Sonia Chin and with the help of choreographer Melissa Adao.
—Soo Youn, NBC News, 16 Mar. 2024
Anika Nayak, STAT, 12 Jan. 2024
The Commission on the Status of Women in a resolution read Wednesday made clear its focus on protecting access to abortions, protecting health care providers and expanding access to what the panel called a full spectrum of pregnancy care—which includes abortions as well as post-birth care.
—Susan Montoya Bryan, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2022
Those were all Michelle MacDonald had to offer Minnesota other than a pro-gun, pro-birth agenda that in itself betrayed the commitment to objectivity and respect for the law that we are entitled to in all of our judges.
—Star Tribune, 4 Nov. 2020
When the twins — son Eames and daughter Ellison — arrived eight weeks early on Jan. 11, 2021, a judge had not yet considered the pre-birth order, which later was denied.
—Rachel Burchfield, Peoplemag, 20 Jan. 2023
The three months now offered to non-birth parents is a departure from the scant three weeks given under the previous policy.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Jan. 2023
Non-birth parents, adoptive parents and long-term foster parents were included before.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2023
This was certainly a fear of mine, and post-birth, gravity has done its thing.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 31 Aug. 2022
The post-birth appearance outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital has become something of a royal tradition — started by Diana.
—Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 31 Aug. 2022
Noun
Postpartum Hemorrhage Bleeding after giving birth is usually normal, especially in the first few days.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Plus, moms who give birth vaginally might want to use a belly band to get extra support the first few days after giving birth.
—Deanna Pai, Allure, 13 Apr. 2024
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Phillips' birth.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024
And the idea of people giving birth to themselves, as happened at the end of Men, is equally far-fetched.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 12 Apr. 2024
Many are running up against the deadline in light of personal challenges, maybe the birth of a baby, an illness, or a death in the family.
—Detroit Free Press, 12 Apr. 2024
Ethan was abandoned by his mother at birth and placed in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, his home for the next six years.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The bill proposed to limit high school athletes to playing on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
Abortions don’t really happen at birth, according to the non-partisan, non-profit health policy organization KFF.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
Because humans, men and women, birthed AI, so to speak.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
While working at a Roman orphanage before becoming a nun circa 1971, American novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) discovers a heinous conspiracy at play: The youth have ditched the Catholic Church and powerful holy men want to birth the Antichrist as an extreme way to bring believers back.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
People have come far and wide to support The Urban Oyster and other restaurants like it and so many individual concepts are being birthed every year and now there’s a plethora of choices!
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The headmaster at the time, James Darling, was inspired by Outward Bound, a movement birthed in Europe before World War II that aimed to build competence and confidence.
—Damien Cave, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
On the most recent episode of VPR, viewers watch as Jax Taylor makes his grand return to the series that birthed his reality TV career after leaving it all behind in 2020.
—Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2024
The couple also had filed a lawsuit against the hospital and obstetrician who helped birth the baby, claiming that complications in the delivery led to the child’s death.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Purpose After birthing a baby, your body (and even your personal identity) is going through a period of change.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 14 Mar. 2024
That night out birthed the idea for the flash mob dance group Ajumma EXP, which Kim founded with her friend Sonia Chin and with the help of choreographer Melissa Adao.
—Soo Youn, NBC News, 16 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The difference that doulas can make A doula — also known as a birth companion or post-birth supporter — provides physical, information, and emotional support to pregnant and postpartum people.
—Anika Nayak, STAT, 12 Jan. 2024
The Commission on the Status of Women in a resolution read Wednesday made clear its focus on protecting access to abortions, protecting health care providers and expanding access to what the panel called a full spectrum of pregnancy care—which includes abortions as well as post-birth care.
—Susan Montoya Bryan, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2022
Those were all Michelle MacDonald had to offer Minnesota other than a pro-gun, pro-birth agenda that in itself betrayed the commitment to objectivity and respect for the law that we are entitled to in all of our judges.
—Star Tribune, 4 Nov. 2020
When the twins — son Eames and daughter Ellison — arrived eight weeks early on Jan. 11, 2021, a judge had not yet considered the pre-birth order, which later was denied.
—Rachel Burchfield, Peoplemag, 20 Jan. 2023
The three months now offered to non-birth parents is a departure from the scant three weeks given under the previous policy.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Jan. 2023
Non-birth parents, adoptive parents and long-term foster parents were included before.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2023
This was certainly a fear of mine, and post-birth, gravity has done its thing.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 31 Aug. 2022
The post-birth appearance outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital has become something of a royal tradition — started by Diana.
—Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 31 Aug. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'birth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to birth
Dictionary Entries Near birth
Cite this Entry
“Birth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
birth
1 of 3 noun1
: the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent
2
: the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb
birth
2 of 3 transitive verb
: to give birth to
allowed to birth her child in her own way—Nancy Robinson
Nancy Robinson
: to bring forth or be brought forth as a child or young
contend that birthing is a natural process, rather than a medical procedure—Kit Miniclier
Kit Miniclierthe baby birthed breech—Jayne Anne Phillips
Jayne Anne Phillipsbirth
3 of 3 adjective
: biological sense 3
spent years searching for his birth parents
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share