February

noun

Feb·​ru·​ary ˈfe-b(y)ə-ˌwer-ē  ˈfe-brə- 

plural Februaries or Februarys

: the second month of the Gregorian calendar

How do you pronounce February?: Usage Guide

Dissimilation may occur when a word contains two identical or closely related sounds, resulting in the change or loss of one of them. This happens regularly in February, which is more often pronounced \ˈfe-b(y)ə-ˌwer-ē\ than \ˈfe-brə-ˌwer-ē\, though all of these variants are in frequent use and widely accepted. The \y\ heard from many speakers is not an intrusion but rather a common pronunciation of the vowel u after a consonant, as in January and annual.

Examples of February in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keith died in February at 62 after a years-long battle with stomach cancer. —Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024

The Revolt carried out an early attack in February 2014, firebombing an uninhabited home in a small Arab village in the West Bank called Silwad, and followed with more arson attacks, the uprooting of olive groves and the destruction of Palestinian granaries. —Mark Mazzetti Jonathan Davis Anna Diamond David Mason, New York Times, 16 May 2024

In February, the trio of acts put out yet another version of the song, which doubled down on the jazz. —Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024

Researchers at the University of Hawaii surveyed 679 people in January and February to study the impact of last year’s wildfires, which was the deadliest wildfire in the country’s history in more than a century. —Chantelle Lee, TIME, 16 May 2024

In 2022, Cruise beat Tesla and Alphabet's Waymo to commercial operation, becoming the first company to launch a fared robo-taxi service in San Francisco that February. —Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 16 May 2024

Read the full Capricorn Daily Horoscope Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Fun with friends and family? —USA TODAY, 4 May 2024

In late February, while Henry was in Nairobi to sign the the necessary accords for the deployment of the Kenya forces, armed gangs in Port-au-Prince united and launched a broad assault on key government institutions while demanding his ouster. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 May 2024

This February, the school board started the national search process over and approved a $16,900 contract with consulting company Finding Leaders to execute the search. —Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 4 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Februarie, from Old English Februarius, from Latin, from Februa, plural, feast of purification

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

February

noun

Feb·​ru·​ary ˈfeb-(y)ə-ˌwer-ē  ˈfeb-rə- 

: the second month of the year

Etymology

Old English Februarius "February," from Latin Februarius "February," literally, "of Februa," from Februa "feast of cleansing"

Word Origin

Every winter the ancient Romans would celebrate a festival of spiritual cleansing. The name of the festival was Februa. Because of its importance the Romans named the month in which it fell Februarius, which means "of Februa." The English name February comes from the Latin Februarius.