birthday

noun

birth·​day ˈbərth-ˌdā How to pronounce birthday (audio)
1
a
: the day of a person's birth
b
: a day of origin
2
: an anniversary of a birth
her 21st birthday

Examples of birthday in a Sentence

Her birthday is September 30th. Today is his 21st birthday. The company just celebrated its 50th birthday.
Recent Examples on the Web Moore showed a photo of him and his sister posing with her Betty Crocker birthday cake. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024 Accompanying the cover is a music video that starts with a young girl enduring the most boring birthday ever. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2024 Below, take a moment to honor the Queen of Soul’s heavenly birthday with 75 of her most iconic beauty moments of all time. India Espy-Jones, Essence, 25 Mar. 2024 People would even get cakes for birthdays and weddings. Andrea Rodriguez, Quartz, 24 Mar. 2024 In celebration of her mom's 87th birthday, Kris Jenner took to Instagram to pay tribute to the family's matriarch who is grandma to Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner. Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024 Most parents who are active online have probably revealed their children’s faces, names, and/or birthdays to their audiences. Zara Hanawalt, Parents, 23 Mar. 2024 The restoration project—expected to be complete in 2027—is part of an even larger $500 million initiative to improve the National Mall for the country’s 250th birthday in 2026. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Mar. 2024 The Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum and dad to daughter Dream was born on March 17. 04 of 15 Coco Austin March 17, 1979 Model and reality star Coco Austin — who has been married to Ice-T since 2002 — also calls St. Patrick’s Day her birthday. Diane J. Cho, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'birthday.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of birthday was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near birthday

Cite this Entry

“Birthday.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birthday. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

birthday

noun
birth·​day ˈbərth-ˌdā How to pronounce birthday (audio)
1
: the day or anniversary of one's birth
2
: the day or anniversary of a beginning

More from Merriam-Webster on birthday

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!