Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: BIRTH

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old Norse
Origin: byrth

birth

 noun
     
birth S2 W2
1

give birth (to somebody)

if a woman gives birth, she produces a baby from her body:
Patsy was celebrating last night after giving birth to twins.
2 [uncountable and countable] the time when a baby comes out of its mother's bodyCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
at birth from/since birth date of birth especially BrE birth date especially American English place of birth time of birth home birth (=when a mother gives birth at home instead of in a hospital) hospital birth (=when a mother gives birth in hospital) premature birth (=when a baby is born earlier than it should be) stillbirth (=when a baby is born dead) multiple birth (=when a mother gives birth to two babies or more at the same time) birth weight birth defect (=something wrong with a baby when it is born)
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
He only weighed 2 kilos at birth.
Henry has been blind from birth.
What's your date of birth?
The exact place of birth is not recorded.
They believe that the position of the planets at the time of birth determines the fate of the individual.
More and more women are choosing to have home births.
Smoking in pregnancy has been linked to premature birth.
the association between birth weight and blood pressure
The drug was found to cause serious birth defects.
3 [singular] the time when something new starts to exist
birth of
the birth of a nation
The film gave birth to a TV show of the same name.
4 [uncountable]SAN the character, language, social position etc that you have because of the family or country you come from:
a woman of noble birth
Definition of birth from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic BIRTH
Word of the Day
The BIRTH
Word of the Day is:
maternity

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