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
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Months later, Allen welcomed the twins in the summer and Lexi gave birth to her and Allen's third child, son Cohen, in September.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
What if the players themselves could simply tell you about all the intricacies of the game, break down the lingo, and explain to you in illustrative detail what was happening in the sorts of moments that gave birth to those clichés?
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2024
Woman gives birth in stadium during electric Browns-Colts game
October 23, 2023 12:50 PM
Read Next
National
Pregnant woman ‘vibing’ at Las Vegas music festival goes into labor weeks early
May 26, 2023 10:08 AM
This story was originally published April 26, 2024, 3:15 PM.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 26 Apr. 2024
There were already signs in the year before that a pandemic surge in births was coming to an end.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
Westerfield gave birth to a baby girl for this mother in 2018.
—Rosie Colosi, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Trending on Billboard Another January 2022 incident alleges that Jeezy struck Mai in the face with a closed fist just weeks after giving birth to their only daughter, Monaco.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Apr. 2024
There are ways to achieve that, but many of them present privacy challenges, such as the use of birth records, social security information or school data.
—Larry Magid, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
Brande Victorian, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024
At the same time that Doja Cat cut her teeth in the Leimert Park underground that had birthed Medusa a generation before, other female rappers started garnering attention in the middle years of the last decade.
—Liz Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
If the 1920s birthed a new Art Deco movement, the 1930s was the era of the Neoclassical.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
The Boston movie that birthed two Boston stars and so many subsequent Boston classics.
—Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024
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
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
First, a little background: In 2015, a survey found that nearly 1 in 4 women went back to work just two weeks after giving birth.
—Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Months later, Allen welcomed the twins in the summer and Lexi gave birth to her and Allen's third child, son Cohen, in September.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
What if the players themselves could simply tell you about all the intricacies of the game, break down the lingo, and explain to you in illustrative detail what was happening in the sorts of moments that gave birth to those clichés?
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2024
Woman gives birth in stadium during electric Browns-Colts game
October 23, 2023 12:50 PM
Read Next
National
Pregnant woman ‘vibing’ at Las Vegas music festival goes into labor weeks early
May 26, 2023 10:08 AM
This story was originally published April 26, 2024, 3:15 PM.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 26 Apr. 2024
There were already signs in the year before that a pandemic surge in births was coming to an end.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
Westerfield gave birth to a baby girl for this mother in 2018.
—Rosie Colosi, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Trending on Billboard Another January 2022 incident alleges that Jeezy struck Mai in the face with a closed fist just weeks after giving birth to their only daughter, Monaco.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Apr. 2024
There are ways to achieve that, but many of them present privacy challenges, such as the use of birth records, social security information or school data.
—Larry Magid, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
Verb
The Panama Canal: Designated one of the seven wonders of the modern world, no trip to Panama would be complete without a visit to the site that birthed travel between the country and the U.S.
—Brande Victorian, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024
At the same time that Doja Cat cut her teeth in the Leimert Park underground that had birthed Medusa a generation before, other female rappers started garnering attention in the middle years of the last decade.
—Liz Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
If the 1920s birthed a new Art Deco movement, the 1930s was the era of the Neoclassical.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
The Boston movie that birthed two Boston stars and so many subsequent Boston classics.
—Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024
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
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Birth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth. Accessed 2 May. 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
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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