December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

dē-

: the 12th month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of December in a Sentence

Her birthday is in late December.

This December was not as cold as the past few Decembers have been.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sheridan is also developing the upcoming Beth and Rip spinoff, which is officially moving forward following Yellowstone’s conclusion in December 2024. —Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025

The company later emerged in December 2020 with new owners, including Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group, as well as a new plan to restructure its stores and reduce debt. —Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025

Of all the responses to the new administration, the anti-Tesla protests have left a bruise—as of this writing, the company’s stock has declined by about half since December. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025

The sentence handed down this week comes after Pratt violated the terms of his probation twice since his release in 2021, once in 2022 and most recently in December. —Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, from Old English or Anglo-French, both from Latin December (tenth month), from decem ten — more at ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for December

• dismember
• nonmember
• november
• remember
• september
• ember
• member

Kids Definition

December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

: the twelfth month of the year

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, December "last month of the year," from early French decembre (same meaning), from Latin December, literally, "tenth month," from decem "ten" — related to decimal, dime

Word Origin

In the first calendar used by the ancient Romans, the year began with the month of March. The Romans called the tenth month of the year December, using the Latin word decem, meaning "ten." When the word was borrowed into early French, it became decembre. That was also how it was first spelled when it came into Middle English. In time, however, the English word was changed to match the original Latin in spelling and in having a capital letter.