January
noun
Jan·u·ary
ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 
-ˌwe-rē
plural Januaries or Januarys
: the first month of the Gregorian calendar
Examples of January in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In January 2023, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled in favor of the NAR.
—
Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Back in January, two attendees of a Madonna concert in Brooklyn filed a lawsuit against the 65-year-old pop star, claiming false advertisement and breach of contract due to her tardiness.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The Ali Wong-Steven Yeun went on to win five Primetime Emmy Awards in January, including the top kudo for limited or anthology series.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
New Survey Shows Mixed Results FBI director Christopher Wray warned a congressional committee in January about Chinese hackers targeting critical U.S. infrastructure such as water treatment plants, electric grids, energy pipelines, and transportation.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Experts told The New York Times in January that the changes of a large earthquake hitting NYC and causing significant structural damage are low.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
President Joe Biden’s campaign raised $21.3 million in February and spent $6.3 million, increasing its cash from $56 million at the end of January to $71 million at the end of February.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
At the Schiaparelli spring/summer 2024 show in January, J Lo made a dramatic entrance to the show with a wet-look finish and kicked ends, and Ayo Edibiri also looked beautiful wearing the trend at the Emmy Awards.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 24 Mar. 2024
Cornerstone Cottage voluntarily shut down in January amid a new complaint investigation, but the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has declined to release the nature of the complaint.
—Wilson Criscione, Idaho Statesman, 24 Mar. 2024
Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Back in January, two attendees of a Madonna concert in Brooklyn filed a lawsuit against the 65-year-old pop star, claiming false advertisement and breach of contract due to her tardiness.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The Ali Wong-Steven Yeun went on to win five Primetime Emmy Awards in January, including the top kudo for limited or anthology series.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
New Survey Shows Mixed Results FBI director Christopher Wray warned a congressional committee in January about Chinese hackers targeting critical U.S. infrastructure such as water treatment plants, electric grids, energy pipelines, and transportation.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Experts told The New York Times in January that the changes of a large earthquake hitting NYC and causing significant structural damage are low.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
President Joe Biden’s campaign raised $21.3 million in February and spent $6.3 million, increasing its cash from $56 million at the end of January to $71 million at the end of February.
—Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
At the Schiaparelli spring/summer 2024 show in January, J Lo made a dramatic entrance to the show with a wet-look finish and kicked ends, and Ayo Edibiri also looked beautiful wearing the trend at the Emmy Awards.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 24 Mar. 2024
Cornerstone Cottage voluntarily shut down in January amid a new complaint investigation, but the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has declined to release the nature of the complaint.
—Wilson Criscione, Idaho Statesman, 24 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'January.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near January
Cite this Entry
“January.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/January. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
January
noun
Jan·u·ary
ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē
: the first month of the year
Etymology
from Latin Januarius "first month of the year," from Janus, a Roman god
Word Origin
Among the many gods worshipped by the ancient Romans was one named Janus. He was believed to have two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Janus was associated with doors, gates, and all beginnings. Because of that, when the Romans changed their calendar and added two months to the beginning of the year, they named the first one Januarius to honor Janus. The English January comes from Latin Januarius.
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