birthday

The word “birthday” means the yearly anniversary of the day someone was born. In plain terms, the date each year that marks when you (or something) came into being.

“Birthday” is pronounced BURTH-day (/ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/ in IPA).

Here is “birthday” used in a sentence: “They threw her a huge party for her thirtieth birthday.”

“Birthday” is a noun.

The word “birthday” comes from Old English. From Old English gebyrddæg, a compound of "birth" and "day" — literally "day of birth".

“Birthday” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Birthday” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the yearly anniversary of the day someone was born.

A birth date is the specific calendar date you were born, such as 3 May 1990, and it never changes. A birthday is the yearly return of that date — the anniversary you celebrate each year. So you have one birth date but mark a birthday every twelve months.

A birthday is a specific type of anniversary — the yearly marking of the day a person was born. An anniversary is the broader term for any yearly commemoration of a past event, such as a wedding, a company's founding, or a historic date. Every birthday is an anniversary, but not the reverse.

Customs vary, but common traditions include a cake with lit candles that the birthday person blows out while making a wish, singing 'Happy Birthday', giving cards and gifts, and gathering for a party or meal with family and friends. Milestone birthdays, like turning eighteen or fifty, often get bigger celebrations.