December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

dē-

: the 12th month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of December in a Sentence

Her birthday is in late December.

This December was not as cold as the past few Decembers have been.

Recent Examples on the Web

The average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs came to $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2025

In December 2024, YouTube viewing on connected TVs in the U.S. increased to capture a record 11.1% share of TV usage among streaming platforms ahead of Netflix (8.5%), Prime Video (4.0%), Hulu (2.5%) and Disney+ (2.1%), according to Nielsen. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 4 Feb. 2025

In an interview with WWD last December in conjunction with the opening of the SoHo flagship, Adrienne Lazarus, president of Madewell, said the marketing would focus on educating customers on how to style the denim with the other apparel and accessories sold at Madewell. —David Moin, WWD, 4 Feb. 2025

Only 19 percent of U.S. hospitals are independent, according to a December 2024 report from Definitive Healthcare. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, from Old English or Anglo-French, both from Latin December (tenth month), from decem ten — more at ten

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

December

noun

De·​cem·​ber di-ˈsem-bər 

: the twelfth month of the year

Etymology

Middle English Decembre, December "last month of the year," from early French decembre (same meaning), from Latin December, literally, "tenth month," from decem "ten" — related to decimal, dime

Word Origin

In the first calendar used by the ancient Romans, the year began with the month of March. The Romans called the tenth month of the year December, using the Latin word decem, meaning "ten." When the word was borrowed into early French, it became decembre. That was also how it was first spelled when it came into Middle English. In time, however, the English word was changed to match the original Latin in spelling and in having a capital letter.