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Definition of "birth defect" []

  • A physiological or structural abnormality that develops at or before birth and is present at the time of birth, especially as a result of faulty development, infection, heredity, or injury. Also called congenital anomaly. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "birth defect" in a sentence
  • "My being a Were was a quirk of genetic scrambling and considered a birth defect among my father's people."
  • "I had spina bifida occulta, a minor birth defect in my spine that had gone undiagnosed for 32 years."