- regulation of the number of children born through the deliberate control or prevention of conception: She campaigned and went to prison for the right of women to practice birth control.
- a drug, technique, or device used to deliberately control or prevent conception (often used attributively): Diaphragms were a common form of birth control long before the invention of contraceptive pills.Vasectomies are growing in frequency as a birth control method in many countries.
- limitation of child-bearing by means of contraception
