1
a
: one that begets or brings forth offspring
just became parents of twins
b
: a person who brings up and cares for another
foster parents
2
a
: an animal or plant that is regarded in relation to its offspring
The parent brings food to the chicks.
b
: the material or source from which something is derived
Latin is the parent of several languages.
c
: a group from which another arises and to which it usually remains subsidiary
a parent company
parent
adjective
parented; parenting; parents
: to be or act as a parent
Examples of parent in a Sentence
Noun
My parents live in New York.
The form must be signed by a parent or guardian of the child.
The parent brings food to the chicks.
The new plant will have characteristics of both parent plants.
Recent Examples on the Web
Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2024
What’s behind those ‘Shame on you’ billboards in the Coachella Valley?
Murrieta Valley school officials defy California, keeping policy to tell parents when children are transitioning genders.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Montana ranks second in its share of parent income devoted to child care: 22.6%, or $372 a week from a family income of $1,643.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Here’s why → Fort Worth parents allege toddler son neglected at school
🚨Get free alerts when news breaks.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
My parents watched David Letterman on the couch with the wood stove roaring in the winters and read the Sunday newspaper in their pajamas on the deck in the summers.
—Steve Knopper, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Woodward is accused of killing Bernstein — his former Orange County School of the Arts classmate — while Bernstein was home visiting his parents during a winter break.
—Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 20 Apr. 2024
The festival provides expectant and new parents with information, resources and community connections for the early stages of parenthood.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
The coalition, Carr said, is building a nationwide movement to educate parents about their rights to get services for children with disabilities.
—Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Julianne Moore balances her acting career with parenting her two kids, Caleb Moore Freundlich and Liv Helen Moore Freundlich.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
War of the Worlds fuses post-9/11 paranoia and the terror of parenting to create one of Spielberg’s most thrilling blockbusters with a dark, genuinely scary atmosphere of ordinary people being wiped out by incomprehensible tragedy.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
But the judge disagreed with this request, considering it an infringement on the father’s right to parent his child, and did not wait for New Hampshire to respond.
—Deborah Sontag, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
So people who are parenting through grief are walking a different path.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 21 Mar. 2024
However, there is a scene in the first film where Gary and Callie talk about how the husband wasn’t really up for parenting Phoebe.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
In October 2023, Chopra told PEOPLE about the challenges she's faced while parenting.
—Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
In these videos, Hildebrandt and Franke sit side by side on a couch discussing topics like parenting and offering self-help tips.
—Samantha Wanderer, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
Join Meghan every other Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET, for a live chat to answer questions from parents trying to raise kids of any age.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2024
What’s behind those ‘Shame on you’ billboards in the Coachella Valley?
Murrieta Valley school officials defy California, keeping policy to tell parents when children are transitioning genders.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Montana ranks second in its share of parent income devoted to child care: 22.6%, or $372 a week from a family income of $1,643.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Here’s why → Fort Worth parents allege toddler son neglected at school
🚨Get free alerts when news breaks.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2024
My parents watched David Letterman on the couch with the wood stove roaring in the winters and read the Sunday newspaper in their pajamas on the deck in the summers.
—Steve Knopper, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Woodward is accused of killing Bernstein — his former Orange County School of the Arts classmate — while Bernstein was home visiting his parents during a winter break.
—Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 20 Apr. 2024
The festival provides expectant and new parents with information, resources and community connections for the early stages of parenthood.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
The coalition, Carr said, is building a nationwide movement to educate parents about their rights to get services for children with disabilities.
—Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024
Verb
In 2018, Pusha T lyrically outed Drake as having parented a son out of wedlock.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Julianne Moore balances her acting career with parenting her two kids, Caleb Moore Freundlich and Liv Helen Moore Freundlich.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
War of the Worlds fuses post-9/11 paranoia and the terror of parenting to create one of Spielberg’s most thrilling blockbusters with a dark, genuinely scary atmosphere of ordinary people being wiped out by incomprehensible tragedy.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
But the judge disagreed with this request, considering it an infringement on the father’s right to parent his child, and did not wait for New Hampshire to respond.
—Deborah Sontag, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
So people who are parenting through grief are walking a different path.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 21 Mar. 2024
However, there is a scene in the first film where Gary and Callie talk about how the husband wasn’t really up for parenting Phoebe.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
In October 2023, Chopra told PEOPLE about the challenges she's faced while parenting.
—Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
In these videos, Hildebrandt and Franke sit side by side on a couch discussing topics like parenting and offering self-help tips.
—Samantha Wanderer, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near parent
Cite this Entry
“Parent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parent. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
parent
noun
par·ent
ˈpar-ənt, ˈper- 
1
: one that begets or brings forth offspring
2
: the material or source from which something is derived
parent
adjective
Legal Definition
parent
noun
par·ent
1
a
: a person who begets or brings forth offspring
especially
: the natural parents of a child born of their marriage
b
: a person who legally adopts a child
c
: a person or entity that owes to a child a legally imposed duty of support
d
: a stepparent where designated by statute
2
: an entity or group that gives rise to or acquires another usually subsidiary entity or group
a parent company
specifically
: a corporation that owns a required minimum percentage of the stock of another corporation compare affiliate
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