Mother Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

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Synonyms mother 1 American [muhth-er] / ˈmʌð ər /

noun

1. a woman who has borne offspring; a female parent.

2. Often Mother one’s own female parent.

   I should give Mother a call today.

   Our mother did not approve of many of the shenanigans we got up to.

3. a mother-in-law, stepmother, foster mother, female adoptive parent, or female guardian.

4. Usually Mother a term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent.

   Thank you for coming, Mother.

5. a woman providing care or exercising influence or authority like that of a female parent.

   The elderly widow next door was a mother to him.

6. the qualities characteristic of a mother, such as maternal affection, protectiveness, responsibility, etc..

   Sometimes the mother in her comes out and she'll remind her students to drive safely.

7. something that gives rise to something else; origin or source.

   Imagination is the mother of possibility.

8. a woman who originates or creates something.

   Marie Curie was the mother of radiography.

9. Ecclesiastical. Usually Mother a title of respect for certain female church leaders, such as heads of convents, bishops, or priests.

10. Mother, (in Neopaganism) the second form of the Goddess, represented as a mother or middle-aged woman and said to symbolize fertility and the flourishing stages of life and growth.

11. Mother, a title for something personified as an older woman.

    Mother Earth.

12. a term of familiar address for an old or elderly woman.

13. Slang. a euphemism for motherfucker.

14. Audio. (in disk recording) a mold from which stampers are made.

adjective

1. being a female parent.

   I watched as the mother bird fed her baby.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a mother.

   mother love.

3. learned or acquired from or as if from one's mother; native.

   After emigrating, he never really abandoned his mother culture.

4. bearing a relation like that of a mother, as in being the origin, source, leader, protector, etc..

   The mother company issues directives to all its affiliates.

   The server is the mother computer for the whole network.

verb (used with object)

1. to be the mother, origin, or source of.

   She mothered two children.

2. to care for or protect like a mother; act maternally toward, sometimes in an excessive way: Stop mothering me!

   It’s in her nature to love and mother those around her.

   Stop mothering me!

   Synonyms: raise, mind, nurse, tend

3. to acknowledge oneself the author of; assume as one's own.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the tasks or duties of a female parent, sometimes in an excessive way; act maternally.

   She’s always wanted to mother.

idioms

1. mother of all, the greatest or most notable example of.

   Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been called the mother of all mystery novels.

mother 2 American [muhth-er] / ˈmʌð ər /

noun

1. a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, especially Acetobacter aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and converts ethanol to acetic acid, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar.

mother 1 British / ˈmʌðə /

noun

1. 1. a female who has given birth to offspring

   2. ( as modifier )

      a mother bird

2. (often capital, esp as a term of address) a person's own mother

3. a female substituting in the function of a mother

4. archaic (often capital) a term of address for an old woman

5. 1. motherly qualities, such as maternal affection

      it appealed to the mother in her

   2. ( as modifier )

      mother love

   3. ( in combination )

      mothercraft

6. 1. a female or thing that creates, nurtures, protects, etc, something

   2. ( as modifier )

      mother church

      mother earth

7. a title given to certain members of female religious orders

   mother superior

8. Christian Science God as the eternal Principle

9. (modifier) native or innate

   mother wit

10. offensive short for motherfucker

11. to pour the tea

    I'll be mother

12. informal the greatest example of its kind

    the mother of all parties

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to give birth to or produce

2. to nurture, protect, etc as a mother

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 mother 2 British / ˈmʌðə /

noun

1. Also called: mother of vinegar. a stringy slime containing various bacteria that forms on the surface of liquids undergoing acetous fermentation. It can be added to wine, cider, etc to promote vinegar formation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 mother More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing mother

• necessity is the mother of invention

Other Word Forms

• mothering noun
• motherless adjective
• motherlessness noun
• motherlike adjective
• mothery adjective
• unmothered adjective

Etymology

Origin of mother1

First recorded before 900; Middle English mother, moder, Old English mōdor; cognate with Dutch moeder, German Mutter, Old Norse mōthir; akin to Armenian mayr, Greek mḗtēr, mā́tēr, Irish máthair, Latin māter, Latvian māte, Persian mâdar, Russian mat', Sanskrit mātar-

Origin of mother2

First recorded in 1450–1500; probably special use of mother 1, but perhaps another word, akin to Dutch modder “dregs,” Middle Low German moder “swampy land”; mud

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Kenyan's work spanned six decades and two languages - first English, and then his mother tongue, Kikuyu.

From BBC

A five-year-old boy who received the world's most expensive drug as a baby has made "incredible progress" and can walk independently, his mother said.

From BBC

She watched from her hospital bed as her mother’s cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was confirmed as U.S. health secretary.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was having trouble figuring out what to get my 83-year-old mother—I had some ideas but hesitated in actually buying anything.

From The Wall Street Journal

A mother whose home was devastated when a toy car battery started a fire on Christmas Day has said she is "not sure what I've got left".

From BBC

Related Words

• mom
• parent

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.