Birth

/bɜːθ/ · noun

Meaning

(uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life; the emergence of a human baby or other viviparous animal offspring from the mother's body into the environment..

Definitions by Sense

1. (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life; the emergence of a human baby or other viviparous animal offspring from the mother's body into the environment.
2. (countable) An instance of childbirth.
3. (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.
4. (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
5. That which is born.
6. A familial relationship established by childbirth.
7. (transitive) To bear or give birth to (a child).
8. (transitive, figuratively) To produce, give rise to.

Example Sentences

Intersex babies account for roughly one per cent of all births.

In Greece a child was given its name on the seventh or tenth day after birth.

the birth of an empire

He was of noble birth, but fortune had not favored him.

without reference to birth, but solely for their qualifications

Lucy […] had no fortune, which, though a minor evil, was an evil; and she had no birth, in the high-life sense of the word, which was a greater evil.

That poets are far rarer births than kings.

Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself.

Synonyms for birth

Antonyms for birth

Related Words

Word Forms

• births
• birthing
• birthed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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