birth 1 of 3

noun

ˈbərth How to pronounce birth (audio)
Definition of birthnext
1
as in nativity
the act or instance of being born almost from birth, he showed all the marks of future greatness

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2
as in ancestry
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended a man of noble birth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in beginning
the point at which something begins that 12-second flight by Orville Wright marked the birth of aviation

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birth

2 of 3

adjective

as in biological
being such by blood and not by adoption or marriage argued that the birth mother had not been informed of all of her options at the time of the adoption

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birth

3 of 3

verb

chiefly dialect
as in to produce
to bring forth from the womb back in those days a woman her age would have birthed several children

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of birth
Noun
On the columns of train stations, stickers bore the smiling faces of soldiers in their twenties alongside motivational quotes and the dates of their births and deaths. — Jordi Graupera, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026 Compton, likely inspired by David Fincher’s 2008 movie, moves Benjamin Button’s birth year to 1918 (a hero’s gotta storm the beach at Normandy) and his birth place to a coastal village in Cornwall. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Adjective
The idea is that vaginal estrogen could help ease common post-birth concerns like swelling and soreness. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 15 Dec. 2025 The pregnancy announcement, the gender reveal, the baby shower, the pregnancy photo shoot, the birth photo shoot, the post-birth photo shoot, the sip-n-see. — Shani Silver, refinery29.com, 31 May 2024
Verb
None of that is necessarily unexpected for the formation of an FRB-birthing magnetar. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2026 But recovering from a second knee injury in as many years offers time for reflection, including that highlight reel which birthed his legend almost 10 years ago. — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for birth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birth
  1. nativity
  2. ancestry
  3. beginning
  4. biological
  5. produce
  6. parenting
  7. lineage
  8. inception
Noun
  • In the end the storybook house got its Christmas debut, with neighboring church bells, sheep, and a nativity scene for revelers.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Architectural Digest, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Cicero, originally from Scicli, suggests bookmarking the Church of San Bartolomeo’s Neapolitan nativity, or the curious Cristo con la gonnella.
    — Jenn Rice, Vogue, 18 Mar. 2026
Definition of nativity
Noun
  • All participants were also of European ancestry, so the findings may not apply to people of different races and ethnicities.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Despite Africa’s central place in human origins and its extraordinary genetic diversity, people of African ancestry remain underrepresented in the genomic datasets used to understand disease, estimate health risks, and develop treatments.
    — Segun Fatumo, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancestry
Noun
  • Clocks are advanced ahead one hour at the beginning of daylight saving time, in March, and clocks are moved back one hour in November when returning to standard time.
    — Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The married owners—Ingrid Rivas, an agronomist, and Radamés Arroyo, an engineer—first began developing the 25-acre property by cultivating Tahiti limes, and the name Hacienda Verde Tahití later became a tribute to those agricultural beginnings.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of beginning
Adjective
  • When several biological computers weighed in on which moves to make, the score jumped to around 70%.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Trees' biological growth isn't beholden to any market, as physical volume expansion builds in value over time.
    — Sebastien Chasse, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of biological
Verb
  • Co-produced by John Congleton, the record swaps synth-pop for gutter-punk, with distorted guitars and clattering surf riffs as its weapons of choice.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
  • However, this movie carries a hefty $100 million price tag (stop-motion animation is labor-intensive and takes years to produce) and likely won’t turn a theatrical profit.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of produce
Noun
  • She was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment after her daughter reportedly arrived at school with sunburns, sparking a media frenzy over Krentcil's extreme tanning habits and parenting.
    — Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Just as in his examination of Captain Sully or his exploration of parenting or an episode about cloned puppies, Fielder is uninterested in the technical realities or the concrete, easily provable facts.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of parenting
Noun
  • The country’s storied motorsport lineage can be traced to 1963, when Formula 1 originally added a Grand Prix in Mexico’s capital.
    — Alan Chazaro, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Payments to individuals vary based on the closest lineage to the family members and continue into perpetuity.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of lineage
Noun
  • This happened despite the fact that calculations of orbital forcings, together with modeling of how carbon dioxide interferes with glacial inception, have suggested the next ice age was postponed by tens of thousands of years.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026
  • That’s a wild thing to imagine, since the iPhone has had very few fundamental changes since its inception.
    — Allison Johnson, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of inception

Phrases Containing birth

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birse
birth
birthday suit
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Cite this Entry

“Birth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birth. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about birth

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