BOTHER | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of bother in English botherverb uk /ˈbɒð.ər/ us /ˈbɑː.ðɚ/

bother verb (MAKE AN EFFORT)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 [ I or T ] to make the effort to do something: [ + to infinitive ] He hasn't even bothered to write. You could have phoned us but you just didn't bother. [ + -ing verb ] Don't bother making the bed - I'll do it later. [ + -ing verb or + to infinitive ] You'd have found it if you'd bothered looking/to look.why bother You won't get any credit for doing it, so why bother?  can't be bothered B2 mainly UK informal If you can't be bothered doing/to do something, you are too lazy or tired to do it: I can't be bothered to iron my clothes. See more

• I don't know why he bothers to bet - his horses always come in last.
• Don't bother drying the pans - just leave them to drain.
• It annoys me that she didn't bother to phone.
• Why bother getting up at all when you don't have a job to go to?
• They went to a lot of trouble for their dinner party, but half the guests didn't bother to turn up.

Trying and making an effort

• A game
• all out
• assault
• attempt
• attempted
• commitment
• give something your best shot idiom
• go after someone phrasal verb
• go all out idiom
• go down swinging/fighting idiom
• go for someone phrasal verb
• invest
• nose
• run after someone/something phrasal verb
• scrabble
• shoot for something phrasal verb
• shoot for the moon idiom
• shoot the works idiom
• spare
• stretch

See more results »

bother verb (WORRY)

B2 [ T ] to make someone feel worried or upset: Does it bother you that he's out so much of the time? Living on my own has never bothered me. I don't care if he doesn't come - it doesn't bother me. [ + that ] It bothers me that he doesn't seem to notice.

• The idea of going grey doesn't bother me, but I'd hate to go bald.
• "He can do what he likes - it doesn't bother me, " she said airily.
• It doesn't bother me what people think.
• It bothered him that no-one had taken the trouble to contact him.
• She doesn't seem at all bothered about her exam results.

Making people sad, shocked and upset

• aback
• amiss
• appal
• be laughing on the other side of your face idiom
• bite
• bum
• haunt
• heartbreaker
• heartbreakingly
• hit/touch a (raw) nerve idiom
• horrify
• nerve
• self-laceration
• sensitivity
• shake someone out of something phrasal verb
• shake someone up phrasal verb
• shake/rock something to its foundations idiom
• shattering
• tear
• toxic

See more results »

bother verb (ANNOY)

A2 [ T ] to annoy or cause problems for someone: Don't bother your father when he's working.sorry to bother you I'm sorry to bother you, but could you help me lift this suitcase?bother someone with something I didn't want to bother her with work matters on her day off. The noise was beginning to bother us, so we left. She threatened to call the police if he didn't stop bothering her. to annoy someone

• annoyIt annoys me that you're always late.
• botherIt bothers me that you don't help with the washing up.
• irritateAfter a while her behaviour really began to irritate me.
• peeveWhat peeved her most was that he hadn't even called her.
• bugHe's been bugging me all morning.
• aggravateIt really aggravates me the way he never thanks me for what I've done.

See more results »

• She looked busy and I didn't want to bother her.
• If the noise bothers you I'll switch it off.
• The neighbours make a bit of noise but it doesn't bother me.
• Will it bother you if I have the TV on?
• I didn't want to bother her when she has so many problems of her own.

Causing feelings of anger and displeasure

• aggravate
• aggrieve
• alienate
• anger
• annoy
• bend
• goat
• grate
• grate on someone/something
• hack someone off phrasal verb
• harass
• joke
• nark
• rub
• rub someone up the wrong way idiom
• ruffle
• ruffle someone's feathers idiom
• set someone's teeth on edge idiom
• tit
• troll

See more results » bothernoun uk /ˈbɒð.ər/ us /ˈbɑː.ðɚ/

bother noun (EFFORT)

[ U ] trouble or problems: I can take you there - it's really no bother. Please don't go to any bother on my account (= don't make any special effort for me).UK I had a bit of bother getting hold of his phone number.  the bother the effort that is necessary to achieve something: Some people don't get married because they don't want the bother. It hardly seems worth the bother to go all that way just for two nights. If this change is going to disrupt people's lives so much, it's not worth the bother. Many employers don't want to go through the bother of sponsoring a worker for a visa. You might as well shave off your beard and save yourself the bother. She asked the question, which spared me the bother. Inconvenience

• a pain (in the neck) idiom
• a pain in the arse/backside idiom
• aggravation
• aggro
• awkward
• bore
• bulky
• burden
• disturbance
• drag
• have fun and games idiom
• imposition
• incommode
• incommodious
• incommodity
• palaver
• pinprick
• pisser
• put something out phrasal verb
• tempest

See more results »

bother noun (ANNOYING)

[ S ] UK an annoying person or situation: I'm sorry to be a bother, but could I have that number again? It's such a bother having to do everything twice. Synonyms annoyance bore (ANNOYING) informal inconvenience irritant (MAKING ANGRY) nuisance a pain (in the neck) informal someone or something that annoys you

• annoyanceThe café was cash only, which was a minor annoyance as I only had my credit card with me.
• nuisanceIt's a nuisance to have to drive to the nearest shop.
• inconvenienceThank you for holding - we apologize for the inconvenience.
• irritationThe CEO's poor communication skills became a source of irritation to the company's investors.
• irritantThe noise of the building work is a constant irritant.
• boreIt's such a bore to have to pack everything up again.

See more results » Inconvenience

• a pain (in the neck) idiom
• a pain in the arse/backside idiom
• aggravation
• aggro
• awkward
• bore
• bulky
• burden
• disturbance
• drag
• have fun and games idiom
• imposition
• incommode
• incommodious
• incommodity
• palaver
• pinprick
• pisser
• put something out phrasal verb
• tempest

See more results » botherexclamation UK old-fashioned uk /ˈbɒð.ər/ us /ˈbɑː.ðɚ/ used to express anger: Oh bother! It's raining and I left my umbrella at home. Expressions of anger

• ay
• bally
• beg
• biscuit
• blast
• blasted
• blaze
• bloody
• dickens
• drat
• dratted
• egad
• fie
• fit of spleen
• flaming
• just my luck! idiom
• la
• marry
• need
• put/stick that in your pipe and smoke it! idiom

See more results » (Definition of bother from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

bother | American Dictionary

botherverb us /ˈbɑð·ər/

bother verb (MAKE AN EFFORT)

Add to word list Add to word list [ I ] to make an effort to do something, esp. something that is not convenient: You won’t get any credit for doing it, so why bother? Don’t bother doing the laundry. [ + to infinitive ] He didn’t even bother to say goodbye.

bother verb (ANNOY)

[ I/T ] to annoy, worry, or cause problems for someone: [ T ] The heat was beginning to bother him, so he sat down. [ T ] Does it bother you if your children aren’t interested? bothernoun [ U ] us /ˈbɑð·ər/

bother noun [U] (EFFORT)

a big effort: I’m not sure gardening is worth the bother.

bother noun [U] (WORRY)

something that annoys or causes problems for someone: That dog has never been a bother to anyone. (Definition of bother from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of bother

bother My sense rather is that they were clearly an anxious group, as he insists, but they were bothered rather than troubled by slavery. From the Cambridge English Corpus She sat and stared, and did not want to be bothered with anything. From the Cambridge English Corpus One soon stops bothering when after leafing through nearly 500 pages there is only a reference to more literature. From the Cambridge English Corpus People who lead quiet lives not bothering with politics and the community are being somewhat selfish. From the Cambridge English Corpus Since he also might not have, we should not be bothered by this result. From the Cambridge English Corpus The most significant factor is one which is heavily loaded with features of general well-being such as being bothered by nerves or depressed. From the Cambridge English Corpus The fact that his dissertation work on hyperinflation became his peak achievement bothered him. From the Cambridge English Corpus By the 1970s the academic modernizers had fallen silent, seldom even bothering to respond to their numerous critics. From the Cambridge English Corpus Only a small number of researchers have bothered to ask the learners themselves what they think about these issues. From the Cambridge English Corpus In 1952 only 29.7 per cent of those eligible to vote bothered to register, and of those who registered 12.4 per cent failed to vote. From the Cambridge English Corpus We don't want government officials bothering us with their development projects, taking our money and never doing anything. From the Cambridge English Corpus Not even his biographers have bothered to mention it. From the Cambridge English Corpus You see, years ago a doctor never even bothered about your weight. From the Cambridge English Corpus With respect to memetics, the authors are bothered by the lack of a clear definition of a meme. From the Cambridge English Corpus No, she said she couldn't be bothered to take it home. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of bother These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of bother?

Translations of bother

in Chinese (Traditional) 作出努力, 努力，盡力, 費心… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 作出努力, 努力，尽力, 费心… See more in Spanish molestarse en, preocupar, molestar… See more in Portuguese preocupar-se, preocupar, incomodar… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian कष्ट घेणे, त्रास घेणे - काहीतरी करण्यासाठी प्रयत्न करणे., काळजीत पडणे… See more ～の邪魔をする, ～に迷惑をかける, ～を心配させる… See more taciz etmek, canını sıkmak, uğraşmak… See more se donner la peine de, déranger, tracasser… See more molestar, amoïnar, molestar-se (a)… See more ergeren, de moeite nemen, last… See more எதையாவது செய்ய முயற்சி செய்ய, யாராவது கவலை அல்லது வருத்தப்படுவதை உணர, ஒருவருக்கு எரிச்சலூட்டுதல் அல்லது பிரச்சினைகளை ஏற்படுத்துதல்… See more कुछ करने का प्रयास करना ज़हमत या कष्ट उठाना, परेशान या तंग करना परवाह करना, तंग… See more કંઈક કરવાનો પ્રયાસ કરો, કોઈને પરેશાન કરવા, હેરાન… See more irritere, ulejlige sig, bekymre sig… See more plåga, besvära, oroa… See more mengganggu, bersusah-susah, kesulitan… See more belästigen, sich um etwas bemühen, die Schererei… See more bry seg, orke, forstyrre… See more زحمت کرنا, تکلیف کرنا, کسی کو تکلیف پہنچانا… See more набридати, хвилювати(ся), турбувати(ся)… See more ఏదైనా చెయ్యడానికి ప్రయత్నం చేయు, ఎవరినైనా బాధపడేలా తలకిందులయేలా చేయు, విసిగించు… See more কিছু করার প্রচেষ্টা করা, কাউকে চিন্তিত বা বিচলিত বোধ করানো, বিরক্ত করা বা কারও জন্য সমস্যা সৃষ্টি করা… See more rušit, obtěžovat, obtěžovat se… See more mengganggu, repot-repot, kerepotan… See more ทำให้รำคาญ, ทำให้ยุ่งยาก, ปัญหา… See more làm phiền, lo lắng, điều phiền muộn… See more niepokoić, przeszkadzać, zawracać głowę… See more -을 귀찮게 하다, 신경 쓰이게 하다, 신경 쓰다… See more infastidire, seccare, preoccupare… See more Need a translator?

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More meanings of bother

• why bother
• bother someone with something
• sorry to bother you

See all meanings

Word of the Day

self-deprecating

UK /ˌselfˈdep.rə.keɪ.tɪŋ/ US /ˌselfˈdep.rə.keɪ.t̬ɪŋ/

trying to make yourself, your abilities, or your achievements seem less important

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• English   
  • Verb 
    • bother (MAKE AN EFFORT)
    • can't be bothered
    • bother (WORRY)
    • bother (ANNOY)
  • Noun 
    • bother (EFFORT)
    • the bother
    • bother (ANNOYING)
  Exclamation
• American   
  • Verb 
    • bother (MAKE AN EFFORT)
    • bother (ANNOY)
  • Noun 
    • bother (EFFORT)
    • bother (WORRY)
• Examples

• Translations
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• All translations

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