birth
[noun]
Synonyms:
- childbirth, delivery, nativity, parturition
- ancestry, background, blood, breeding, lineage, parentage, pedigree, stock

---

Related Words: abortion, miscarriage, slip

---

English Thesaurus: beginning, start, commencement, origin, the onset of something, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

birth S2 W2 /bɜːθ $ bɜːrθ/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old Norse; Origin: byrth]

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 body:
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] the character, language, social position etc that you have because of the family or country you come from:
a woman of noble birth
French/German etc by birth

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

birth
noun
ADJ. live Better living conditions mean more live births and fewer stillbirths.
normal | breech, Caesarean, premature | multiple | legitimate | illegitimate | home
VERB + BIRTH give She gave birth to a baby boy.
register
BIRTH + NOUN certificate | rate | weight
PREP. at ~ The baby weighed 7 pounds at birth.
at/during a/the ~ The child's father was present at the birth.
by ~ He was American by birth, but lived in France.
PHRASES births, marriages and deaths a registry of births, marriages and deaths
your date/place of birth, of low/noble birth (= born to a poor/aristocratic family), the moment of birth

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

birth

sb’s date of birth especially British English, sb’s birth date especially American English (=the day, month and year you were born)
Please give your name, address, and date of birth.
sb’s place/country of birth
I wanted to find out my father’s place of birth.
birth weight (=a baby’s weight when it is born)
Many factors may affect a baby’s birth weight.
a birth certificate (=an official document showing when and where you were born)
the birth rate (=the number of babies born somewhere)
The country’s birth rate has decreased dramatically.
a birth defect (=something wrong with a baby when it is born)
About 11% of babies have birth defects.
a premature birth (=when a baby is born before the normal time)
Many babies survive premature births.
a multiple birth (=when a woman has two or more babies at the same time)
The chance of a multiple birth is about 1 in 100 for the average woman.
a home birth (=when a woman gives birth at home, not in a hospital)
I decided I wanted a home birth for my second child.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

beginning the first part of something such as a story, event, or period of time:
The beginning of the movie is very violent.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
start the beginning of something, or the way something begins:
Tomorrow marks the start of the presidential election campaign.
It was not a good start to the day.
The runners lined up for the start of the race.
commencement formal the beginning of something – used especially in official contexts:
the commencement of the academic year
the commencement of the contract
origin the point from which something starts to exist:
He wrote a book about the origins of the universe.
The tradition has its origins in medieval times.
the onset of something the time when something bad begins, such as illness, old age, or cold weather:
the onset of winter
An active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases common to aging.
dawn literary the beginning of an important period of time in history:
People have worshipped gods since the dawn of civilization.
birth the beginning of something important that will change many people’s lives:
the birth of democracy in South Africa
the birth of the environmental movement

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

start to begin doing something:
I’m starting a new job next week.
It’s time we started.
begin to start doing something. Begin is more formal than start, and is used especially in written English:
He began to speak.
The orchestra began playing.
Shall we begin?
commence formal to start doing something:
The company will commence drilling next week.
Work was commenced on the next power station.
get down to something to finally start doing something, especially your work:
Come on, Sam – it’s time you got down to some homework.
We’d better get down to business.
set off to start a journey:
What time do you have to set off in the morning?
I usually set off for work at about 8.30.
set out to start a long journey:
The ship set out from Portsmouth on July 12th.
embark on something especially written to start something, especially something new, difficult, or exciting:
The Law Society has embarked on a major programme of reform.
Jamaica was embarking on a decade of musical creativity.
resume formal to start doing something again after stopping it or being interrupted:
Normal train services will be resumed on April 5th.
Trade was resumed after the end of the war.
get cracking informal to start doing something or going somewhere:
I think we should get cracking straightaway.
start/begin to begin:
What time does the film start?
open to start being shown to the public – used about a play, show, or exhibition:
Lloyd Webber’s new musical opened in London last week.
A major exhibition of her work will open in New York in November.
get under way to start happening or being done – used especially about something that is likely to last a long time:
Construction work is getting under way on a new train network.
Discussions concerning the plan got under way on April 2.
break out to start happening – used especially about a fire, a fight, war, or a disease:
Police were called in when fighting broke out in the crowd.
The blaze broke out on the third floor of the hotel.
kick off informal to start – used especially about a football game or a meeting:
The match is due to kick off this afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
What time will the celebrations kick off?
a good/great start
A 3-0 win is a good start for the team.
a flying start (=a very good start)
The appeal got off to a flying start at the weekend when the group held a raffle.
a promising start (=a good start that makes success seem likely)
Her teacher says she's made a promising start in learning Spanish.
a bad/poor/disastrous start
Things got off to a bad start when two people turned up late.
a rocky/shaky start (=a rather bad start)
After a shaky start, they managed two wins in five matches.
a disappointing start
He accepted full responsibility for the club’s disappointing start to the season.
a slow start
Work got off to a very slow start because of bad weather.
an auspicious/inauspicious start (=one that makes it seem likely that something will be good or bad)
His second term in office has got off to an extremely inauspicious start.
an early/late start
It was long trip so we had planned an early start.
get off to a good/bad etc start
On your first day at work, you want to get off to a good start.
make a good/bad/early etc start
He made a flying start at college, but then he didn't manage to keep it up.
have a good/bad etc start
We’ve had a disappointing start but we are hoping to improve.
beginning the first part of something such as a story, event, or period of time:
The beginning of the movie is very violent.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
commencement formal the beginning of something – used especially in official contexts:
the commencement of the academic year
the commencement of the contract
origin the point from which something starts to exist:
He wrote a book about the origins of the universe.
The tradition has its origins in medieval times.
the onset of something the time when something bad begins, such as illness, old age, or cold weather:
the onset of winter
An active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases common to aging.
dawn literary the beginning of an important period of time in history:
People have worshipped gods since the dawn of civilization.
birth the beginning of something important that will change many people’s lives:
the birth of democracy in South Africa
the birth of the environmental movement

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲