- 1(abbreviation b.) to come out of your mother's body at the beginning of your life I was born in 1976. He was born in a small village in northern Spain. She was born with a weak heart. born into something She was born into a very musical family. born to somebody He was born to German parents. + 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). Topic CollocationsThe Ages of Lifechildhood/youth
- be born (and raised) in New York; 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 home
- graduate from school/college
- go to work (at the age of 21)
- get/find a job/partner
- be/get engaged/married
- have a wife/husband/mortgage/steady job
- settle down and have kids/start a family
- begin/start/launch/build a career (in politics/science/the music industry)
- prove (to be)/represent/mark/reach a (major) 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
- see/spend time with your grandchildren
- take up/pursue/develop a hobby
- get/receive/draw/collect/live on a pension
- approach/save for/die of old age
- live to a ripe old age
- reach the grand old age of 102/23 (often humorous)
- be/become/be getting/be going senile (often humorous)
- die (peacefully)/pass away in your sleep/after a brief illness
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- 2(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.
- 3-born (in compounds) born in the order, way, place, etc. mentioned firstborn nobly-born French-born see newborn, stillborn Idioms
(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.
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 having grown up in a particular place with a particular background and education He was born and bred in Boston. I'm a Chicagoan, born and bred.
having rich parents
used to say that you are not stupid enough to believe what someone is telling you Oh yeah? I wasn't born yesterday, you know.
used to say that someone is very stupid
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