mama

noun

ma·​ma ˈmä-mə 

chiefly British mə-ˈmä

variants or less commonly mamma or momma

1

: mother

2

slang : wife, woman

Synonyms of mama

• mom
• mother
• mommy

Examples of mama in a Sentence

I'm not your mama—you'll have to clean up after yourself.

Recent Examples on the Web

All's fair in love and war — an idiom that Cressida (second from left, played by Jessica Madsen) and her meddling mama would do well to remember while courting the Prince! —Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026

But guess what — my baby mama gonna be straight. —Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026

Scoma’s Brothers Al and Joe Scoma opened their dockside restaurant in 1965 with half a dozen stools and their mama’s recipes. —Becky Duffett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

My hope is that Meadow not only remembers the tall ocean waves knocking us down to laughter, or the incredible sounds of the island drums, but also the feeling that her mama enjoys her company, slowing down with her, and showing her the world from a space of fullness and not depletion. —Kareema Bee, Parents, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

baby talk

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mama

• mama's boy
• sugar mama

Rhymes for mama

• brahma
• chama
• comma
• dama
• drama
• gama
• lama
• llama
• mamma
• momma
• rama
• sama

Kids Definition

mama

noun

ma·​ma

variants also mamma or momma

ˈmäm-ə

: mother entry 1 sense 1a