motherland

moth·er·land | \ ˈmə-t͟hər-ˌland

How to pronounce motherland (audio)

\

Definition of motherland

1 : mother country sense 1

2 : a country regarded as a place of origin (as of an idea or a movement)

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about motherland

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of motherland in a Sentence

for many oenophiles, France remains the motherland of fine wines all his life he longed to return to his motherland

Recent Examples on the Web Schools are emerging as ideological battlegrounds as officials seek to transform freethinking students into patriots loyal to the motherland through punishment, coercion, surveillance and propaganda-style education. — Washington Post, "Teachers face threats, books are banned as China pushes party line in Hong Kong schools," 7 July 2020 Filmed from below, to give him extra height, President Putin appealed to his people to vote on a package of constitutional changes, for the sake of the motherland that millions of Russians died to defend against Hitler. — The Economist, "Parade’s end A phoney referendum shows Putin’s legitimacy is fading," 4 July 2020 Both are efforts to instill what the government views as the appropriate type of patriotism, and force love of a motherland that many see as an oppressor. — Timothy Mclaughlin, The Atlantic, "A Stubborn Leader, a Broken System," 18 June 2020 China, however, considers loyalty to the motherland a component of survival. — Suzanne Sataline, The Atlantic, "The Challenge to China From Hong Kong's 'Sense of Country'," 21 May 2020 Students who attended Mandarin classes had felt the pandemic provided an opportunity to show support for their parents’ motherland. — Los Angeles Times, "Residents of Mexicali’s Chinatown face prejudice, blow to culture with coronavirus," 17 Apr. 2020 Patriotic people who love their motherland—or adopted land—are everywhere in the world, but there is arguably no one as enthusiastically keen to demonstrate it as Americans. — Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, "How socialism became anti-American," 26 Feb. 2020 Though some in the older generation also identify as Hong Kongers, many instead identify as Chinese and call China their motherland. — Jessie Yeung, CNN, "Family feuds and social media spats: The generational divide that's splitting apart Hong Kong," 9 July 2019 The statue of Hanuman Murti (inset above), god of courage, was a gift from a swami in the motherland to consecrate Sri Dattatreya Yoga Centre in 2003. — Omar Mouallem, WSJ, "Trinidad: A Caribbean Vacation With an Indian Flavor," 17 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'motherland.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about motherland

Dictionary Entries near motherland

mother-in-law apartment

mother-in-law plant

Statistics for motherland

Last Updated

13 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Motherland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motherland. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

quiescent

Listen to the pronunciation of quiescent

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Original Meanings Quiz

Which of the following is the earliest known sense of the word awe?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.