DictionaryAI

birth

SayBURTH/bɜɹθ/UK/bɜːθ/

Pluralbirths

Verbbirths, birthing, birthed

8 meanings of birth

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  1. 1
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The time when a baby or young animal comes out of its mother's body.

    Like a seed pushing up out of the ground into the open air.

    The birth of her son was the happiest moment of her life.

    Many animals give birth in the spring.

    UsageSay give birth to a baby. Also at birth and from birth.

    Oppositedeath

  2. 2
    have a babyverbtransitive
    To bring a baby or young animal into the world.

    Some women choose to birth their children without medication.

    The cow birthed twin calves overnight.

    UsageGive birth to is the more usual way to say it: she gave birth to a boy.

    Similarbear, deliver, have

    Note
  3. 3
    beginningnouncountable
    The start or beginning of something new.

    Like the first small spark that starts a big fire.

    The meeting marked the birth of a new political movement.

    Many people trace the birth of jazz to New Orleans.

    UsageUsually the birth of something: the birth of a new idea.

    Similardawn, beginning, emergence, origin, start (entry)

    Oppositeend, demise

  4. 4
    give rise toverbfigurativelytransitive
    To create something or cause it to begin.

    Like one seed that grows into a whole forest.

    Hard times often birth great art.

    The crisis birthed a wave of reforms across the country.

    Similarspawn, produce, create, generate, engender

  5. 5
    biologicaladjective
    Used about relatives connected to you by birth, rather than by adoption or marriage.

    She searched for years to find her birth mother.

    He met his birth father for the first time at twenty.

    UsageUsed before a noun: birth mother, birth father.

    Similarbiological, natural

    Oppositeadoptive

  6. 6
    family ranknoununcountable
    The family or social group a person is born into.

    She was of noble birth, but she chose a simple life on a farm.

    In some old societies, your birth decided your whole future.

    UsageOften of noble birth or of humble birth.

    Similardescent, ancestry, lineage, parentage, origin

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 7
    nounarchaiccountable or uncountable
    Someone or something that has been born, such as a child or a young animal.
    That poets are far rarer births than kings.
    1692, Ben Jonson, “Epigrams”
    Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself.
    1761, Joseph Addison, The Works of Joseph Addison

    Similarnewborn, offspring

    Note
  2. 8
    nounobsolete
    Obsolete spelling of berth. Found in old books for a bed on a ship, a ship's place in port, or a job.
    The road was very narrow, with no opportunity of giving the apparent phantom what seamen call a wide birth.
    1830, Walter Scott, Letters on Demonology and WitchcraftHere, birth is an old spelling of berth, a wide space kept away from something.
    [W]ith worldly wisdom, the first comer hastens to secure the best birth in the coach for himself, and to make the most convenient arrangement for his baggage before the arrival of his competitor.
    1816, [Walter Scott], The AntiquaryHere, birth is an old spelling of berth, a place in the coach.
    Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3, 5–7

From Middle English birthe, from Old Norse burðr. It comes from an old root *bʰer- meaning "to carry, bear," and is related to the verb bear.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Meanings 2, 4

From Middle English birthen, formed from the noun birth.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts