mother 1 of 3

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

mother

3 of 3

verb

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
More than two years after a California mother's desperate 911 call ended with her 4-year-old son witnessing her killing, the father prosecutors said carried out the execution will spend decades behind bars. Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Now, nine years on, the itchiness her late mother endured had clearly revived in her own body. Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 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
Noun
  • My mom raves about Vuori loungewear, and there’s currently a pair of the brand’s airy, feather-soft wide-leg pants on sale for 25 percent off.
    Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Raquel’s battling that same thing of just not really knowing how, but wanting to be in her version of being a good mom.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Her maternal grandmother emigrated from the southern Campania region as a child, and married a Lazio man in Syracuse, New York.
    Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This is part of a series on maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the world’s fastest-growing population and accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The bedroom is on floor one, the first door on the right (that door, by the way, has three peepholes carved seemingly at random), and is bedecked in reddish wood.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Nixon surrendered 50 receptions in coverage and had 72 tackles (58 solos).
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Charlie started coming in even after the work was done to nurse a Coke at the bar and stare at Perez, who was more than 20 years his junior.
    Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026
  • Her eldest son moved in during the pandemic and nursed the orchard’s last remaining tree back to health.
    Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 30 July 2026
Verb
  • However, excess nitrogen can also cause crepe myrtles to produce lots of leaves and minimal flowers.
    Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Series is created and written by Brennan and executive produced by Murphy, Brennan, Max Winkler, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Louise Shore, Nissa Diederich, Todd Kubrak, Carl Franklin and Tanase Popa.
    Denise Petski, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Upon being asked to bend the knee, Aegon delivers a fiery speech asserting his magnificence.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Public firms that most fully internalized MSV—treating the current stock price as the master metric and stakeholders as constraints—often delivered mediocre long-term results and were disciplined by the market itself.
    Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Golden State was basically birthed into existence in front of it all.
    Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Its success birthed a stand-alone hot chicken restaurant in Nashville’s Midtown, which in turn launched a multi-state expansion that’s now reached as far as Chicago, Dallas, and Las Vegas.
    Ellen Fort, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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