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

Inspired by true events, The Ocean Between Them stars Gayheart as Joan, a fierce mama bear scouring the Central American Pacific after her daughter Miranda (Jessica Lord) disappears at sea during a vacation in Belize. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Aug. 2026

This is what happens when men let their beloved sports be bastardized by Stanley-succin' mama bears. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026

The pups and their mama will soon be up for adoption, according to Green. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2026

The must-read Jackie, arguably the world’s most famous bald eagle mama, died Monday morning after a mysterious illness that veterinarians at the Ojai Raptor Center worked hard to combat. — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026

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