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Synonyms
Examples of mother lode in a Sentence
the university has long been a mother lode of athletic talent, with many alumni joining the rarefied ranks of the professionals
Recent Examples on the Web
So in our current environment, where mortgage rates skyrocketed from historic lows throughout the pandemic to a more than two-decade high in October last year, being mortgage-free is like hitting the mother lode.
—Rachel Ventresca, Fortune, 6 June 2024
While all of Arizona attracts bats for at least part of the year, this is the mother lode.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 20 May 2024
But for a noir of isolation and concealment, about how the past can often feel inescapable, these shadowy dugouts — Travis’ motel, a church and one character’s lonely lair — are an atmospheric mother lode.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
While their pro shop didn’t have much on sale, REI’s website is the mother lode of markdowns.
—Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2024
Around the end of the night, after clocking objects like the spectacular Ring Nebula (M57) and the quirky Wild Duck Cluster (M11), named for the rough V-shape of its bright stars that resembles migrating birds, astronomers turn to the constellation Sagittarius, a mother lode for marathoners.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024
But back onboard The Dare, there’s no sign its crew will be stopping the search for the mother lode anytime soon.
—Jay O'Brien, ABC News, 11 Nov. 2023
After all, joining the gold rush of famous figures to endorse, purchase or establish liquor companies since George Clooney turned Casamigos into a $1-billion mother lode in 2017 isn’t exactly a parable of rugged individualism or self-reliance.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2023
Two-thousand-five-hundred miles west of Dodger Stadium was a mother lode of Dodgers memorabilia.
—Lewis Abraham Leader, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mother lode.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1863, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near mother lode
Cite this Entry
“Mother lode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother%20lode. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
mother lode
noun
: the main vein or deposit of an ore (as gold) in a region
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