mother

1 of 4

noun (1)

moth·​er ˈmə-t͟hər 

1

a

: a female parent

She's the mother of three small children.

b(1)

: a woman in authority

specifically : the superior of a religious community of women

Mother Teresa

(2)

: an old or elderly woman

Mother Hubbard

2

: source, origin

necessity is the mother of invention

3

: maternal tenderness or affection

all my mother came into mine eyes and gave me up to tears

—William Shakespeare

4

[short for motherfucker] sometimes vulgar : motherfucker

5

: something that is an extreme or ultimate example of its kind especially in terms of scale

the mother of all construction projects

the mother of all ocean liners

motherhood

ˈmə-t͟hər-ˌhu̇d 

noun

motherless

ˈmə-t͟hər-ləs 

adjective

motherlessness noun

mother

2 of 4

adjective

1

a

: of, relating to, or being a mother

b

: bearing the relation of a mother

2

: derived from or as if from one's mother

3

: acting as or providing parental stock

—used without reference to sex

mother

3 of 4

verb

mothered; mothering ˈmə-t͟hə-riŋ 

ˈmət͟h-riŋ

transitive verb

1

a

: to give birth to

b

: to give rise to : produce

2

: to care for or protect like a mother

mother

4 of 4

noun (2)

plural mothers

1

: a slimy or gelatinous mass or film that contains bacteria, yeasts, or both, that forms in liquids during the process of fermentation, and that is often used as a starter (see starter entry 1 sense 3b) in the production of certain food and beverage products:

a

: mother of vinegar

After about 2 months, when the alcohol has acidified, or when a taste of the vinegar makes your mouth pucker, it's ready to strain and bottle. (You can save the mother to begin a new batch.)

—Tejal Rao

b

: SCOBY

A kombucha "mother" floats atop a vat of the fermented tea looking like a brown, gelatinous disk of bacteria and yeast, which it is.

—Melissa Nann Burke

The brand's approach includes straining out the mother, leaving the kombucha with more of the mouthfeel of traditional teas and other mainstream beverages.

—Dale Buss

2

: a dough of fermented flour and water used as a starter especially in baking : mother dough

Each day pieces are taken and used to create new loaves, and the mother is fed to survive.

—Sophie Witts

Synonyms

Adjective

• maternal

Verb

• have
• produce
• deliver
• birth [chiefly dialect]

Examples of mother in a Sentence

Adjective

she often offered to babysit for friends, hoping to satisfy her mother urges until she had children of her own

Verb

She mothered two sons but no daughters.

I hope to mother at least one child.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The 69-year-old hails from an ethnically mixed family – his father is Azeri and his mother is Kurdish. —Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 6 July 2024

And if your mother doesn't feel comfortable setting her own boundary, offer to be her excuse. —R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 6 July 2024

Verb

Lupita Nyong'o stars as Roz, a service robot who washes up on a small island with no human inhabitants and must figure out how to adapt her programming to the wilderness while mothering a baby goose. —K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 May 2025

One of her reasons for leaving was to focus on mothering her two daughters. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 28 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1), Adjective, and Verb

Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor; akin to Old High German muoter mother, Latin mater, Greek mētēr, Sanskrit mātṛ

Noun (2)

archaic mother dregs, lees; akin to Middle Dutch moeder dregs

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mother

• birth mother
• den mother
• earth mother
• expectant mother
• foster mother/father
• learn (something) at one's mother's knee
• mother cell
• mother country
• mother dough
• mother figure
• mother hen
• mother-in-law
• mother-in-law apartment
• mother lode
• mother-naked
• mother-of-pearl
• mother of vinegar
• mother sauce
• mother ship
• mother tongue
• mother wit
• necessity is the mother of invention
• pollen mother cell
• queen mother
• single mother
• surrogate mother
• swear on one's mother's grave
• the mother of all
• tied to one's mother's apron strings

Rhymes for mother

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

Kids Definition

mother

1 of 3 noun

moth·​er ˈmət͟h-ər 

1

a

: a female parent

b

: a woman in authority

especially : a nun in charge of a convent

2

: an elderly woman

3

: cause entry 1 sense 1, origin

necessity is the mother of invention

motherhood

-ˌhu̇d 

noun

motherless

-ləs 

adjective

mother

2 of 3 adjective

1

a

: of or relating to a mother

mother love

b

: being in the relation of a mother to others

a mother country

2

: gotten from or as if from one's mother

mother

3 of 3 verb

mothered; mothering ˈmət͟h-(ə-)riŋ 

: to be or act as mother to

Medical Definition

mother

noun

moth·​er ˈmət͟h-ər 

: a female parent