birth mother

noun

: the mother of a child when the child is born

specifically : a woman who gave birth to a child who has been adopted

They had turned to an open adoption after pursuing infertility treatments for 18 years, and the birth mother had agreed to relinquish custody at the hospital.

—Emily Nussbaum

Examples of birth mother in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When Jean was a toddler, her birth mother filed for divorce, alleging that her husband was a heavy drinker who hoarded his wages and verbally abused her. —Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025

According to the star, her birth mother was an exotic dancer and her father was a stock car racer and musician. —Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2025

Hannah worried that her birth mother would find her. —Scott Craven, AZCentral.com, 10 July 2025

Like her adoptive parents, Barbara Cowan (née Crane) and Paul Gilbert, who were actors, Gilbert revealed that her biological parents also came from a background in entertainment — her birth mother was an exotic dancer and her birth father was a stock car racer and musician. —Liza Esquibias, People.com, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birth mother

• another
• godmother
• grandmother
• stepbrother
• stepmother
• brother
• nother
• other
• smother
• souther

Legal Definition

birth mother

noun

birth moth·​er

: the woman who gave birth to a child especially as distinguished from the child's adoptive mother