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Dictionary:

baby boom


n.

A sudden large increase in the birthrate, especially the one in the United States from the later 1940s through the early 1960s.

babyboom ba'by-boom' (bā'bē-būm') adj.
 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: baby boom

In the U.S., increase in the birth rate between 1946 and 1964; also, the generation born in the U.S. during that period. The hardships and uncertainties of the Great Depression and World War II led many unmarried couples to delay marriage and many married couples to delay having children. The war's end, followed by a sustained period of economic prosperity (the 1950s and early 1960s), was accompanied by a surge in population. The sheer size of the baby-boom generation (some 75 million) magnified its impact on society: the growth of families led to a migration from cities to suburbs in the postwar years, prompting a building boom in housing, schools, and shopping malls. As the "boomers" reached young adulthood in the 1960s and '70s, their tastes in music and their hair and dress styles strongly influenced the national culture, and the political activism of some contributed to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War. As they aged and prospered in the 1980s and '90s, their buying habits determined the course of many consumer industries, including automobiles. The needs of baby boomers during their retirement years were expected to strain public resources.

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WordNet: baby boom
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the larger than expected generation in United States born shortly after World War II

 
Wikipedia: baby boom
For the film, see Baby Boom (film).

A baby boom is any period of greatly increased birth rate during a certain period, and usually within certain geographical bounds. Persons born during such a period are often called baby boomers. Some contest the general conventional wisdom that baby booms signify good times and periods of general economic growth and stability.

The term baby boom most often refers to the dramatic post-World War II baby boom (notice the rate of change on the chart below). However, the term remains a general demographic one and is also applicable to other similar population expansions.

Recent baby boom periods include:


Number of births in the United States, 1934 to present
Enlarge
Number of births in the United States, 1934 to present

Other uses

Babyboom is the name of the acoustic reggae/folk side project of Manchester ska punk band Sonic Boom Six.

See also

External links


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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Baby boom".  Read more

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