birth
♦ birth /b'ɜːrθ/ (births)
1 [N-VAR]
When a baby is born, you refer to this event as his or her birth.
It was the birth of his grandchildren which gave him greatest pleasure...
She weighed 5lb 7oz at birth.
...premature births.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] with poss
You can refer to the beginning or origin of something as its birth.
...the birth of popular democracy.
3 [N-UNCOUNT] usu supp N
Some people talk about a person's birth when they are referring to the social position of the person's family.
...men of low birth...
His birth, background and career show that you can make it in this country on merit alone.
4
see also date of birth, home birth
5 [PHRASE] adj/n PHR
If, for example, you are French by birth, you are French because your parents are French, or because you were born in France.
Sadrudin was an Iranian by birth.
6 [PHRASE] V inflects
When a woman gives birth, she produces a baby from her body.
She's just given birth to a baby girl...
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
To give birth to something such as an idea means to cause it to start to exist.
In 1980, strikes at the Lenin shipyards gave birth to the Solidarity trade union.
8 [PHRASE] n PHR
The country, town, or village of your birth is the place where you were born.birth cer|tifi|cate (birth certificates)
[N-COUNT]
Your birth certificate is an official document which gives details of your birth, such as the date and place of your birth, and the names of your parents.birth con|trol
[N-UNCOUNT]
Birth control means planning whether to have children, and using contraception to prevent having them when they are not wanted.birth rate (birth rates)
also birth-rate
[N-COUNT]
The birth rate in a place is the number of babies born there for every 1000 people during a particular period of time.
The UK has the highest birth rate among 15 to 19-year-olds in Western Europe.
...a falling birth-rate.date of birth (dates of birth)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
Your date of birth is the exact date on which you were born, including the year.
The registration form showed his date of birth as August 2, 1979.home birth (home births)
[N-VAR]
If a woman has a home birth, she gives birth to her baby at home rather than in a hospital.
1 [N-VAR]
When a baby is born, you refer to this event as his or her birth.
It was the birth of his grandchildren which gave him greatest pleasure...
She weighed 5lb 7oz at birth.
...premature births.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] with poss
You can refer to the beginning or origin of something as its birth.
...the birth of popular democracy.
3 [N-UNCOUNT] usu supp N
Some people talk about a person's birth when they are referring to the social position of the person's family.
...men of low birth...
His birth, background and career show that you can make it in this country on merit alone.
4
see also date of birth, home birth
5 [PHRASE] adj/n PHR
If, for example, you are French by birth, you are French because your parents are French, or because you were born in France.
Sadrudin was an Iranian by birth.
6 [PHRASE] V inflects
When a woman gives birth, she produces a baby from her body.
She's just given birth to a baby girl...
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
To give birth to something such as an idea means to cause it to start to exist.
In 1980, strikes at the Lenin shipyards gave birth to the Solidarity trade union.
8 [PHRASE] n PHR
The country, town, or village of your birth is the place where you were born.birth cer|tifi|cate (birth certificates)
[N-COUNT]
Your birth certificate is an official document which gives details of your birth, such as the date and place of your birth, and the names of your parents.birth con|trol
[N-UNCOUNT]
Birth control means planning whether to have children, and using contraception to prevent having them when they are not wanted.birth rate (birth rates)
also birth-rate
[N-COUNT]
The birth rate in a place is the number of babies born there for every 1000 people during a particular period of time.
The UK has the highest birth rate among 15 to 19-year-olds in Western Europe.
...a falling birth-rate.date of birth (dates of birth)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
Your date of birth is the exact date on which you were born, including the year.
The registration form showed his date of birth as August 2, 1979.home birth (home births)
[N-VAR]
If a woman has a home birth, she gives birth to her baby at home rather than in a hospital.