stepmother

noun

step·​moth·​er ˈstep-ˌmə-t͟hər 

: the wife of one's parent when distinct from one's natural or legal mother

Examples of stepmother in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Watch Krampus on Peacock The Lodge A happy holiday turns cold when two children are snowed in during Christmas at a remote winter cabin with their soon-to-be stepmother (Riley Keough), whose visions of her cultist past trigger terrifying behavior for the trio in this 2019 horror thriller. —Lydia Price, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025

The subpoenas, filed by attorneys for Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, indicate that witnesses from both the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Temple Christian School, where Anna was a student, were ordered to appear at a Wednesday afternoon custody hearing in Viera, Florida. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025

For Megan Downy, the stepmother of Miguel Alejandro Tapia, the timing could not be more painful. —Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025

Your stepmother, Song Dandan, is a famous sitcom actress. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stepmother

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

Kids Definition

stepmother

noun

step·​moth·​er -ˌmət͟h-ər 

: the wife of one's father when distinct from one's natural or legal mother