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
• motherly

Verb

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

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

Adjective

Humans, however, evolved to be cooperative breeders, with the father and other non-mother caregivers, such as siblings and relatives, involved in child-rearing. —Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2013

Verb

Sekani recovered from the procedure, but never showed any interest in mothering her infant. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Mar. 2024

Suzanne Shepherd, the actress who mothered iconic mob wives in Goodfellas and The Sopranos, has died. —EW.com, 19 Nov. 2023

After arriving in 2005 and mothering several cubs, 128 Grazer has become notorious for being one of the most ruthlessly protective bears at the park. —Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 11 Oct. 2023

In her lifetime, Neka mothered three cubs, all in 2013 — and each of them is now living at other accredited zoos across the country. —Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023

Fifteen-month-old Helina was born on May 27, 2022, along with brothers Roman and Nicolas, to mother Amur tiger Zoya and father Pavel. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Aug. 2023

For Ann especially, Minh’s death feels sharp: The family matriarch had effectively mothered her into adulthood, as Huong was often absent, working several jobs to support them. —Rhoda Feng, Washington Post, 4 July 2023

The first houses were named after these trans women who were mothering a community that was only for women. —José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 28 June 2023

Daughter of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers pens personal letter to mother 09:03 The couple met while attending Alcorn A&M College in 1950. —Sarah Lynch Baldwin, Alicia Alford, Gisela Perez, CBS News, 12 June 2023

Noun

Popular on Variety The prosecutor provided a summary of the calls, in which Gutierrez Reed spoke with her mother, her boyfriend and a defense paralegal. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024

In addition to tuning in to Can’t Wait to Hear from You every Thursday on the Hana Kuma channel on YouTube, be sure to read on, below, as Osaka discusses the new podcast, what being a new mother is like, Black maternal health, self-care, and more. —India Espy-Jones, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024

That included flying to Austin for his mother’s funeral between wins over UConn and Kansas City. —Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024

Breastfeeding can also reduce mothers’ risks of breast and ovarian cancer, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, the CDC says. —Katie Camero, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

In Virginia, prosecutors also looked beyond the actions of a 6-year-old boy who grabbed his mother’s handgun out of her purse, brought it to Richneck Elementary School in his backpack and that afternoon, shot and seriously injured his teacher, Abigail Zwerner. —Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024

Three months later, his mother opened one of his credit card statements and saw the mounting debt. —Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024

In one case, a student in Rhode Island was suspended for talking back to her teachers; the discipline record notes that her mother had recently died and the student might need counseling. —Sarah Butrymowicz, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024

Juste is hoping to save her mother before that day comes. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2024

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

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