birth
UK [bɜ:θ] US [bɝ:θ] noun
ESSENTIAL countable or uncountable
■the time when a baby comes out of its mother's body 出生•It was a difficult birth.那是一次难产。 •He weighed eight pounds at birth.他出生时体重八磅。 •More men are present at the births of their children these days.现在更多父亲在孩子出生时也在场。 •The application form will ask for your country/place of birth (= where you were born).申请表上会要求你填写出生国藉／出生地。 IMPROVER countable
■a child which is born 婴儿•The percentage of live births (= children who are born alive and continue to live) continues to increase.婴儿成活率不断提高。 •Registration of births and deaths became compulsory in 1871.出生登记和死亡登记于1871年成为一种强制性的义务。 uncountable
■the position of the family into which you are born, especially its social position （尤指标志社会地位的）血统，出身•He had received all the advantages of birth (= having been born into a family of a high social class) and an expensive education.他出身高贵，而且接受过良好的教育。 American/Italian, etc. by birth
■born in a particular place or having parents with a particular nationality 生于美国／义大利等•Oscar Wilde was Irish by birth.奥斯卡‧王尔德生于爱尔兰。
UK [bɜ:θ] US [bɝ:θ] noun
give birth IMPROVER
■When a woman or female animal gives birth, she produces a baby from her body 分娩；生孩子•She gave birth to twins.她生了一对双胞胎。 •Our cat gave birth last night.我们的猫昨晚生了小猫。 •figurative This extraordinary experience gave birth to (= gave him the idea for) his latest novel.这次非比寻常的经历激发他写出了这部最新小说。 |