mother lode

noun

1

: the principal vein or lode of a region

2

: a principal source or supply

old papers that proved to be a mother lode of information about the town's history

Synonyms of mother lode

• gold mine
• treasure trove
• repository

Examples of mother lode in a Sentence

the university has long been a mother lode of athletic talent, with many alumni joining the rarefied ranks of the professionals

Recent Examples on the Web

Happy Valentine’s Day card The vanity in the dressing room of the pop-up is the Easter egg mother lode, according to the Spotify reps, who encouraged us to look closely on it for clues. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025

Blueberries contain a mother lode of micronutrients, including Vitamins B6, C and K, along with manganese, antioxidant pigments and phytochemicals attributed to ratcheting up long-term memory and cognitive processing. —Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025

Game shows have always been about making a deal, but this was the mother lode! —Lindsay Soll, EW.com, 25 July 2025

Considering how much Italy is growing in terms of national branding, accessing the mother lode of tourism could be a great opportunity for foreign investors interested in Italy. —Andrea Pietrini, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mother lode

• afterload
• episode
• internode
• microcode
• multimode
• nematode
• nesselrode
• overflowed
• overload
• overrode
• radioed
• torpedoed

Kids Definition

mother lode

noun

: the main vein or deposit of an ore (as gold) in a region