bother

1 of 2

verb

both·​er ˈbä-t͟hər 

bothered; bothering

ˈbät͟h-riŋ,

ˈbä-t͟hə- 

transitive verb

1

: to annoy especially by petty provocation : irk

It bothers her when people litter.

bothered by the itchy tag on his shirt

2

: to intrude upon : pester

Don't bother him when he's working.

3

: to cause to be somewhat anxious or concerned

My stomach is bothering me.

—often used interjectionally

Oh, bother!

intransitive verb

1

: to become concerned

wouldn't bother with details

2

: to take pains (see pain entry 1 sense 3) : take the trouble

never bothered to ask

bother

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a state of petty discomfort, annoyance, or worry

when scenery gets mixed up with our personal bothers all the virtue goes out of it

—Edith Wharton

b

: something that causes petty annoyance or worry

Fixing it would be too much of a bother.

Sorry to be such a bother, but I need your help.

2

: fuss, inconvenience

doesn't want the bother of filling out all the forms again

Synonyms

Verb

• bug
• chivy
• chivvy
• disturb
• intrude (upon)
• pester

Noun

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Choose the Right Synonym for bother

annoy, vex, irk, bother mean to upset a person's composure.

annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.

their constant complaining annoys us

vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.

vexed by her son's failure to clean his room

irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.

careless waste irks the boss

bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.

don't bother me while I'm reading

Examples of bother in a Sentence

Verb

He's so easygoing. Nothing seems to bother him.

Something he said at the meeting has been bothering me.

The entire car trip was filled with complaints like, “Mom, David keeps bothering me!” and “Will you tell him to quit bothering me?”.

Mother used to cook elaborate dinners, but with only herself to cook for, she doesn't bother anymore.

“Should I call later?” “No, don't bother.”

I'm not going to bother with the details.

Noun

Replacing the windows could be more of a bother than it's worth.

I know what a bother driving into the city can be this time of day.

“Sorry to bother you.” “That's okay, it's no bother at all.”

I considered replacing that part of the floor but decided it wasn't worth the bother.

He doesn't want the bother of filling out all those forms again.

Will you mail this for me? It will save me the bother of going to the post office.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow was popular enough that fans wanted a solo story, but the studio didn't bother to make it until her character was already dead in the major timeline, then skipped the theatrical release, which Johansson sued them about. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 19 Apr. 2025

So much so that Gillaspie didn’t bother to even grab a towel last summer when a pitching coach yelled into the visiting showers to alert him that Triple-A El Paso manager Pete Zamora needed to see him. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2025

Noun

The United States appeared to be in a spot of bother heading into last week’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, after three top players withdrew simultaneously with only days to go. —Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

Trump has been threatening for months to use the Alien Enemies Act, of 1798, to expel Venezuelans who the Administration says belong to the Tren de Aragua gang, without the bother of going through legal proceedings. —Ruth Marcus, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

of obscure origin

Note: Early attestations strongly associate the word with Ireland, though if bother is authentically Hiberno-English, the interdental consonant must be secondary, perhaps by association with earlier pother entry 1, itself of obscure origin. A hypothetical link with Irish bodhar "deaf, confused" is improbable given that the internal dental consonant in Irish was lost by 1300.

Noun

noun derivative of bother entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1745, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1761, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing bother

• save someone the trouble/bother
• why bother

Rhymes for bother

• father
• forefather
• godfather
• grandfather
• stepfather

Kids Definition

bother

1 of 2 verb

both·​er ˈbät͟h-ər 

bothered; bothering -(ə-)riŋ 

1

a

: to upset often with minor details : annoy

b

: to intrude upon : interrupt

2

a

: to cause to be worried or concerned

b

: to become concerned

3

: to take the trouble : make an effort

don't bother to knock

bother

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: the state of being bothered

b

: someone or something that bothers in a small way

what a bother a cold can be

2

: commotion sense 2, fuss