mother 1 of 3

noun

Definition of mothernext
as in mom
a female human parent he dreaded telling his mother that her favorite figurine had gotten broken

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mother

2 of 3

adjective

as in maternal
of, relating to, or characteristic of a mother she often offered to babysit for friends, hoping to satisfy her mother urges until she had children of her own

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mother

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to have
to bring forth from the womb I hope to mother at least one child

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to nurse
to attend to the needs and comforts of mothered the patients with chicken soup

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mother
Noun
The devastating climax of the story occurs when Cal Trask (Joseph Zada) takes his idealist twin Aron (Joe Anders) to see their mother’s brothel, driving Aron to join the army and then get killed in WWI. — Max Gao, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026 Survivors include by his mother, Donna Lou, sister Kimberly and niece Haley. — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
Perhaps pasta or pizza with cheese is so comforting because we’re literally being mothered by flowering plants and bovines? — Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026 One way to combat that, as a gardener, is to start plants by seed instead of buying plants that someone else has started, watered and mothered for months. — Henry Homeyer, The Providence Journal, 13 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother
  1. mom
  2. maternal
  3. have
  4. nurse
  5. produce
  6. deliver
  7. birth
Noun
  • Willa’s look contrasted her mom’s with youthful exuberance defined by pops of color.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Let this serve as your reminder that a sweet-smelling scented candle makes a lovely present for just about any favorite coworker, significant other, your votive-loving mom, or yourself.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of mom
Adjective
  • Her confessions look like maternal desperation rather than the truth.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The small, troubled Trask family represents isolation, generational trauma and dysfunctional cycles in contrast to the large, loving and morally grounded Hamilton family, who are modeled after Steinbeck’s own maternal ancestors.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of maternal
Verb
  • Only about a dozen countries have active programs, including small Caribbean island states.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • But Todd Field inhabited that world, and allowed the audience to do so, in a way that no previous director had.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of have
Verb
  • Top running back Fluff Bothwell, who entered the game nursing a lower-body injury, carried the ball only once for 1 yard on the Bulldogs' opening series and watched the second half with a boot on his left foot.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Both Caleb Douglas, the Dolphins rookie standout, and Justin Jefferson, the Vikings’ All-Pro receiver, are nursing ankle injuries.
    — Omar Kelly October 1, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of nurse
Verb
  • Enhanced oil recovery uses techniques such as carbon dioxide injection to increase the amount of crude oil produced from an oil field.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The fact Chourio didn't automatically rank it atop the list speaks volumes about all the memorable moments the 22-year-old already has produced in his first three seasons.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of produce
Verb
  • As reported, Golden Goose continued to deliver strong growth in the first half of 2026, supported by an acceleration in its direct-to-consumer channel and double-digit gains across all regions.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • RoboParty also revealed that the RP1 delivers peak joint torque of up to 160 N•m.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of deliver
Verb
  • The main series, which was birthed out of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, featured the same cast for its first 11 seasons before the network chose to reboot the series for season 12.
    — McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Even more surprisingly, the 24-year-old doe that lived in captivity in Kerr Wildlife Management Area actually birthed a fawn in her final year.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of birth

Phrases Containing mother

Browse Nearby Words

moth-eaten
mother
mother countries
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Cite this Entry

“Mother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on mother

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mother

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