1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

mother country

noun

Definition of mother countrynext
1
as in birthplace
a place of origin Greece can boast to being the mother country of democracy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in home
the land of one's birth, residence, or citizenship even after decades of living in their adopted nation, they maintained a strong attachment to the mother country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mother country In effect, the mother country turned to its thriving colonies to pay the bill for its European wars. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2026 This founding tenet of the Bel Paese now looks set to change — ending diaspora dreams of returning to the mother country, and meaning that Italians who move abroad risk denying citizenship to their descendants. — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 14 Mar. 2026 The world premiere by Burlingame playwright Geetha Reddy starts off as an HR dispute about sexism at an aerospace company, only to tap into centuries-old resentments dating from Indian immigrant employees’ mother country. — Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Feb. 2026 Even so, Maduro’s ouster gave her a lot of hope for her mother country. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mother country
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother country
  1. birthplace
  2. home
  3. cradle
  4. country
Noun
  • There's of course the very birthplace of pizza, Italy, where some of the best pizzaiolos in the world still live and train in hubs ranging from Rome to Caserta.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Sep. 2026
  • For many designers across the globe, Paris, the birthplace of haute couture, has been, and is to this day, the one and only fashion mecca.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of birthplace
Noun
  • The men entered the home with guns, found no drugs and fatally shot the three residents, who lived just across the street from Norman, the records show.
    — MICHAEL GRACZYK, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • To make matters worse, Leigh’s home had been invaded by musicians.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of home
Noun
  • This ecosystem has been the cradle of many major innovative high-tech companies, as well as those sparking innovation and growth in other sectors.
    — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The Massachusetts Bay is a beautiful place to have a breakdown, and the setting serves as a tender cradle for high school history teacher Artie Dam to have his whole world turned upside down.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of cradle
Noun
  • That result shocked many Germans who had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws to prohibit persecution.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Subsequent intermittent attacks between the two countries have coincided with higher domestic gas prices due to disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
    — Carter Schroppe, The Washington Examiner, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of country

Browse Nearby Words

mother countries
mother country
mothered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mother country.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20country. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tactile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All