- (abbreviation b.)to come out of your mother’s body at the beginning of your life
- I was born in 1996.
- He was born in a small village in northern Spain.
- She was born on 7 February 1874.
- The baby was born by Caesarean section on Friday.
- born into something She was born into a very musical family.
- These children were born into poverty.
- born of/to somebody He was born of/to German parents.
- born with something She was born with a rare heart condition.
- She was born with a weak heart.
- + adj. Her brother was born blind (= was blind when he was born).
- + noun John Wayne was born Marion Michael Morrison (= that was his name at birth).
Collocations The ages of lifeThe ages of lifeChildhood/youth- be born and raised/bred in Oxford; into a wealthy/middle-class family
- have a happy/an unhappy/a tough childhood
- grow up in a musical family/in an orphanage/on a farm
- be/grow up an only child (= with no brothers or sisters)
- reach/hit/enter/go through adolescence/puberty
- be in your teens/early twenties/mid-twenties/late twenties
- undergo/experience physical/psychological changes
- give in to/succumb to/resist peer pressure
- assert your independence/individuality
- leave school/university/home
- go out to work (at sixteen)
- get/find a job/partner
- be/get engaged/married
- have/get a wife/husband/mortgage/steady job
- settle down and have kids/children/a family
- begin/start/launch/build a career (in politics/science/the music industry)
- prove (to be)/represent/mark/reach a turning point in your life/career
- reach/be well into/settle into middle age
- have/suffer/go through a midlife crisis
- take/consider early retirement
- approach/announce/enjoy your retirement
- have/see/spend time with your grandchildren
- take up/pursue/develop a hobby
- get/receive/draw/collect/live on a pension
- approach/save for/die from old age
- live to a ripe old age
- reach the grand old age of 102/23 (often ironic)
- be/become/be getting/be going senile (often ironic)
- die (peacefully)/pass away in your sleep/after a brief illness
Extra ExamplesTopics Life stagesa1- She was born into a wealthy family.
- Their child was born with a serious medical problem.
- babies who are born to very young mothers
- to be born of noble parents
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- prematurely
- into
- of
- to
- …
- be born alive
- be born dead
- be born and bred
- …
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- (of an idea, an organization, a feeling, etc.) to start to exist
- the city where the protest movement was born
- born (out) of something She acted with a courage born (out) of desperation.
- -born(in compounds) born in the order, way, place, etc. mentioned
- firstborn
- nobly born
- French-born
- The part is played by an American-born actress.
Word OriginOld English boren, past participle of beran ‘to bear’, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre.
Idioms
See born in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee born in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe/be born/be made that way
- (of a person) to behave or do things in a particular manner because it is part of your character
- It's not his fault he's so pompous—he was born that way.
be born to be/do something
- to have something as your destiny (= what is certain to happen to you) from birth
- He was born to be a great composer.
born and bred
- born and having grown up in a particular place with a particular background and education
- He was born and bred in Boston.
- I'm a Londoner, born and bred.
- I was born and bred in Texas.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
born with a silver spoon in your mouth
- (saying) having rich parents
in all my born days
- (old-fashioned, informal) used when you are very surprised at something you have never heard or seen before
- I've never heard such nonsense in all my born days.
not be born yesterday
- (informal) used to say that you are not stupid enough to believe what somebody is telling you
- Oh yeah? I wasn't born yesterday, you know.
not know you are born
- (British English, informal) to have an easy life without realizing how easy it is
- You people without kids don't know you're born.
there’s one born every minute
- (saying) used to say that somebody is very stupid
(as/as if) to the manner born
- (formal) as if something is natural for you and you have done it many times in the past
- She adapted to life on the estate as if to the manner born.
Check pronunciation:
born