- [uncountable, countable] the time when a baby is born; the process of being born
- at birth The baby weighed three kilos at birth.
- Global life expectancy at birth is about 72 years.
- John was present at the birth of both his children.
- It was a difficult birth.
- a hospital/home birth
- from birth Mark has been blind from birth.
- Please state your date and place of birth.
- They are at increased risk of low birth weight.
- You need to show a copy of your birth certificate.
- The risk of premature birth increases markedly after 35.
- Please provide your complete birth name and birth date.
Collocations ChildrenChildrenHaving a baby/child- want a baby/a child/kids
- start a family
- conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child
- miss your period
- become/get/be/find out that you are pregnant
- have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family
- have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth
- be in/go into/induce labour (especially US English) labor
- have/suffer/cause a miscarriage
- give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twins
- bring up/ (especially North American English) raise a child/family
- care for/ (especially British English) look after a baby/child/kid
- change (British English) a nappy/(North American English) a diaper/a baby
- feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby
- be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave
- go back/return to work after maternity leave
- need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare
- balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life
- educate/teach/home-school a child/kid
- punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid
- adopt a baby/child/kid
- offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption
- (especially British English) foster a child/kid
- be placed with/be raised by foster parents
WordfinderExtra ExamplesTopics Life stagesa2- He was anxiously awaiting the birth of his child.
- They recently celebrated the birth of their second daughter.
- You should prepare a birth plan with your obstetrician.
- Better living conditions mean more live births and fewer stillbirths.
- a registry of births, marriages and deaths
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- live
- normal
- difficult
- …
- give
- register
- celebrate
- …
- certificate
- records
- date
- …
- at birth
- at a/the birth
- during a/the birth
- …
- births, deaths and marriages
- births, marriages and deaths
- your date of birth
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [singular] the beginning of a new situation, idea, place, etc.
- This declaration marked the birth of a new society in South Africa.
- He was a medical student years before the birth of psychoanalysis.
- [uncountable] a person’s origin or the social position of their family
- Anne was French by birth but lived most of her life in Italy.
- a woman of noble birth
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- live
- normal
- difficult
- …
- give
- register
- celebrate
- …
- certificate
- records
- date
- …
- at birth
- at a/the birth
- during a/the birth
- …
- births, deaths and marriages
- births, marriages and deaths
- your date of birth
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse byrth; related to the verb bear.
Idioms
See birth in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee birth in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishgive birth (to somebody/something)
- to produce a baby or young animal
- Mary gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
- She died shortly after giving birth.
- (figurative) It was the study of history that gave birth to the social sciences.
Check pronunciation:
birth