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January

January

1.0
The first month of the year
  • proper noun
  • /ˈdʒæn.juˌɛr.i/
translation icon : enero
  • Many people set New Year's resolutions at the beginning of January each year.
  • January 1
  • January 31
  • January and February

If you get a bad October, January layoffs could be bad.

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Examples

  • You can wear those well into January and February if you so wish.

  • Up in my room one cold January night, I wrote the first letter.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Being able to be out here in January is such a treat.

  • My favorite thing about January is that it's over.

  • We're doing one in January at the City University of New York.

  • So starting in January, look forward to hearing from you.

  • The actual day of the election was on January 5th.

  • It is January 15, to be exact.

  • Listen: My heating bill for the month of January is $39.74 - a fair assessment, I think.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • So when you make New Year's resolutions this January, they're real.

Synonyms

Jan
vsJanuary
1.0

A short form of January, the first month of the year

is the full written form rather than the short abbreviation

Compounds

54 1.0

The first day of the year celebrated with parties and fireworks

1 3.9

A day when some southern U.S. states honor the birthday of General Robert E. Lee

1 1.4

A Christian festival marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus

The time around the middle of January

1.6

A Christian holy day on January 1 honoring Mary

January 6
  • Literature
6.5

A violent attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 that threatened democracy

Surface Forms

January main

Etymology

January comes from the Roman god Janus, whose name comes from the Latin ianua meaning 'door'. Janus had two faces, one looking back and one looking forward, so January is seen as the 'door' to the new year and a time for new beginnings.