Definition of 'bother'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense bothers
, present participle bothering
, past tense, past participle bothered
1. verb
If you do not bother to do something or if you do not bother with it, you do not do it, consider it, or use it because you think it is unnecessary or because you are too lazy.
Synonyms: concern yourself, take the time, make the effort, go to the trouble More Synonyms of bother
2. uncountable noun [oft a NOUN]
Bother means trouble or difficulty. You can also use bother to refer to an activity which causes this, especially when you would prefer not to do it or get involved with it.
3. uncountable noun
5. verb
6.
See bother/bother it
7.
8.
See it's no bother
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
bother in British English
verb
noun
6.
a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance
exclamation
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C18: perhaps from Irish Gaelic bodhar deaf, vexed; compare Irish Gaelic buairim I vex
Word Frequency
bother in American English
verb transitive
4.
to disturb; interrupt
verb intransitive
5.
to take the time and trouble; concern oneself
don't bother to reply
6.
to make a fuss
interjection
SIMILAR WORDS: anˈnoy
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
bother in American English
(ˈbɑðər)
transitive verb
1.
to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry
His baby sister bothered him for candy
2.
to bewilder; confuse
His inability to understand the joke bothered him
intransitive verb
3.
to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself
Don't bother to call
He has no time to bother with trifles
noun
SYNONYMS 1. harass, vex, irritate; molest, disturb. bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one’s comfort or peace of mind. bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of
pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to pester, as by long-continued whining and begging.4.
something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying
Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother
7.
someone or something that bothers or annoys
My cousin is a perpetual bother to me
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1710–20; orig. Hiberno-E; prob. by hypercorrection from bodder, an alternate early form; orig. obscure]Examples of 'bother' in a sentence
bother
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In other languages
bother
British English: bother
/ˈbɒðə/ VERB
If you do not bother to do something or if you do not botherwith it, you do not do it, consider it, or use it because you think it is unnecessary or because you are too lazy.
Lots of people don't bother to go through a marriage ceremony.
- American English: bother /ˈbɒðər/
- Arabic: يُقْلَقُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: incomodar
- Chinese: 打扰
- Croatian: zamarati se
- Czech: obtěžovat (se)
- Danish: gøre sig den ulejlighed
- Dutch: de moeite nemen
- European Spanish: molestarse importunar
- Finnish: vaivata
- French: se tracasser
- German: kümmern (sich)
- Greek: ασχολούμαι
- Italian: infastidire
- Japanese: 悩ます
- Korean: 괴롭히다
- Norwegian: bry
- Polish: przejmować się
- European Portuguese: incomodar
- Romanian: a se deranja
- Russian: беспокоить
- Latin American Spanish: molestar
- Swedish: besvära
- Thai: ลำบาก, ยุ่งยาก
- Turkish: zahmet etmek
- Ukrainian: турбувати(ся)
- Vietnamese: quấy rầy
British English: bother
NOUN /ˈbɒðə/
Bother means trouble or difficulty. You can also use bother to refer to an activity which causes this, especially when you would prefer not to do it or get involved with it.
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