Born vs. Borne
“Born” and “borne” are both related to “bear,” but modern usage separates them. “Born” is used in birth expressions, while “borne” covers other participial senses such as being carried, supported, or endured.
Use “born” for birth; use “borne” for most other past-participle senses of “bear.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| birth | born | use “born” |
| carried, supported, endured, or transmitted | borne | use “borne” |
Quick tests
Meaning test
Does the participle refer to birth?
If yes: Use “born.”
If no: For other participial senses of “bear,” use “borne.”
Caveat: Both forms are related to “bear,” but modern usage separates the birth sense from the others.
Examples
He was born in 1998.
Birth takes “born.”
The expense was borne by the department.
A non-birth passive takes “borne.”
Airborne particles are borne by moving air.
The participle “borne” keeps the carrying sense.
Further guidance
Core difference
“Born” is the form normally used with “be” for coming into life; “borne” is the past participle of “bear” in other senses such as carried, supported, or endured.
Usage Boundary
Write “She was born in June,” but “The cost was borne by the company” and “He has borne the strain.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Born or borne? — Cambridge Grammar (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Grammar distinction between born in birth contexts and borne as the other past participle of bear