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mother
1[ muhth-er ]
noun
- a woman who has borne offspring; a female parent.
- Often Mother. one’s own female parent:
I should give Mother a call today.
Our mother did not approve of many of the shenanigans we got up to.
- a mother-in-law, stepmother, foster mother, female adoptive parent, or female guardian.
- Usually Mother. a term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent:
Thank you for coming, Mother.
- a woman providing care or exercising influence or authority like that of a female parent:
The elderly widow next door was a mother to him.
- the qualities characteristic of a mother, such as maternal affection, protectiveness, responsibility, etc.:
Sometimes the mother in her comes out and she'll remind her students to drive safely.
- something that gives rise to something else; origin or source:
Imagination is the mother of possibility.
- a woman who originates or creates something:
Marie Curie was the mother of radiography.
- Usually Mother. Ecclesiastical. a title of respect for certain female church leaders, such as heads of convents, bishops, or priests. mother superior ( def ).
- Mother, (in Neopaganism) the second form of the Goddess, represented as a mother or middle-aged woman and said to symbolize fertility and the flourishing stages of life and growth. Compare crone ( def 3 ), maiden ( def 3 ).
- Mother, a title for something personified as an older woman:
Mother Earth.
- a term of familiar address for an old or elderly woman.
- Slang. a euphemism for motherfucker.
- Audio. (in disk recording) a mold from which stampers are made.
adjective
- being a female parent:
I watched as the mother bird fed her baby.
- of, relating to, or characteristic of a mother:
mother love.
- learned or acquired from or as if from one's mother; native:
After emigrating, he never really abandoned his mother culture.
- bearing a relation like that of a mother, as in being the origin, source, leader, protector, etc.:
The mother company issues directives to all its affiliates.
The server is the mother computer for the whole network.
verb (used with object)
- to be the mother, origin, or source of:
She mothered two children.
- to care for or protect like a mother; act maternally toward, sometimes in an excessive way: Stop mothering me!
It’s in her nature to love and mother those around her.
Stop mothering me!
Synonyms: , , ,
- to acknowledge oneself the author of; assume as one's own.
verb (used without object)
- to perform the tasks or duties of a female parent, sometimes in an excessive way; act maternally:
She’s always wanted to mother.
mother
2[ muhth-er ]
noun
- a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, especially Acetobacter aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and converts ethanol to acetic acid, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar.
mother
1/ ˈʌðə /
noun
- a female who has given birth to offspring
- ( as modifier )
a mother bird
- often capital, esp as a term of address a person's own mother
- a female substituting in the function of a mother
- archaic.often capital a term of address for an old woman
- motherly qualities, such as maternal affection
it appealed to the mother in her
- ( as modifier )
mother love
- ( in combination )
mothercraft
- a female or thing that creates, nurtures, protects, etc, something
- ( as modifier )
mother earth
mother church
- a title given to certain members of female religious orders
mother superior
- Christian Science God as the eternal Principle
- modifier native or innate
mother wit
- offensive.short for motherfucker
- be motherto pour the tea
I'll be mother
- the mother of all … informal.the greatest example of its kind
the mother of all parties
verb
- to give birth to or produce
- to nurture, protect, etc as a mother
mother
2/ ˈʌðə /
noun
- a stringy slime containing various bacteria that forms on the surface of liquids undergoing acetous fermentation. It can be added to wine, cider, etc to promote vinegar formation Also calledmother of vinegar
Derived Forms
- ˈdzٳԲ, noun
- ˈdzٳ, adjective
Other Word Forms
- dzٳ·· adjective
- dzٳ···ness noun
- dzٳ·· adjective
- ܲ·dzٳ· adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of mother1
Word History and Origins
Origin of mother1
Origin of mother2
Idioms and Phrases
- mother of all, the greatest or most notable example of:
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been called the mother of all mystery novels.
More idioms and phrases containing mother
In addition to the idiom beginning with mother , also see necessity is the mother of invention .Example Sentences
He said the noise their son Finn made when he was told of his mother's death would stay with him forever.
It named another woman, Raphael's British wife, as the little girl's mother.
While advocacy groups focus on acceptance and inclusion they avoid "uncomfortable truths about children like mine", Emily May, a mother of a child with autism, wrote in a New York Times opinion piece on Friday.
Wallace revealed that his mother recently died, adding that it was "terribly sad" that she had spent the last few days of her life reading "horrible things" about him.
The short journey to share the news with his mother, who lived just 15 blocks away, took much longer than usual.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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