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

Over that same period, Chelsea (beaten by Brentford and Nottingham Forest last season) and Manchester City (conceding two late goals to neighbours United back in December) have been susceptible to shakier days after being turned around. —Thom Harris, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the unemployment rate increased from 5.0% in December 2007, when the Great Recession started, to a high of 10.0% in October 2009, four months after the Great Recession officially ended. —Christian Weller, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025

Northwest Arkansas homes spent a median of 36 days on the market before going under contract in December, data shows. —Sami Sparber, Axios, 12 Mar. 2025

In February, shelter inflation slowed to an annual rate of 4.2%, its lowest since December 2021. —Alicia Wallace, CNN, 12 Mar. 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.