MOTHER | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Meaning of mother in English

mother
noun
uk
/ˈmʌð.ər/ us
/ˈmʌð.ɚ/

mother noun (PARENT)

Add to word list Add to word list
A1 [ C ]
a female parent:
My mother was 21 when she got married.
All the mothers and fathers had been invited to the end-of-term concert.
The little kittens and their mother were all curled up asleep in the same basket.
[ as form of address ] formal or old-fashioned May I borrow your car, Mother?
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
your parents
  • parentMy parents died when I was young.
  • biological parentSome children are raised by grandparents or other family members, instead of their biological parents.
  • adoptive parentWhen he was 7 months old, his mother gave him up to his adoptive parents.
  • motherHave you met my mother?
  • fatherMy father fully supports my life choices.
  • mumUK My mum and dad go there every year.
See more results »
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Family: relations in general
See more results »

mother noun (RELIGIOUS WOMAN)

[ C ]
(also Mother)
the title of a woman who is in charge of, or who has a high rank within, a convent (= house of religious women):
Mother Theresa
a mother superior
[ as form of address ] Good morning, Mother.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Religious titles
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

mother noun (FOR FOOD)

[ C or U ]
(also mother dough)
a mixture used for making sourdough bread, consisting of flour and water that has been allowed to ferment (= to undergo a chemical process of being broken down by bacteria or yeasts) and has been kept from a previous occasion when bread was made:
Head baker Saci made his mother nearly twenty years ago.
He shows them how to mix older mother dough with fresh new dough for the perfect balance of flavour.
[ C or U ]
a substance used for making any food or drink that is fermented (= that undergoes a chemical process of being broken down by bacteria or yeasts), that is kept from a previous occasion when the food or drink was made :
The kefir mother grows slowly from batch to batch.
Here's how to grow a kombucha mother.
Organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar also contains "mother", strands of proteins, enzymes and friendly bacteria that give the product a murky appearance.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Flour & yeast
See more results »

Idioms

at your mother's knee
the mother of all something
mother
verb [ T ]
  often disapproving
uk
/ˈmʌð.ər/ us
/ˈmʌð.ɚ/
to treat a person with great kindness and love and to try to protect them from anything dangerous or difficult:
Stop mothering her - she's 40 years old and can take care of herself.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Defending and protecting
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of mother from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

mother | American Dictionary

mother
noun
us
/ˈmʌð·ər/

mother noun (PARENT)

Add to word list Add to word list
[ C ]
a female parent:
My mother was 20 when I was born.
Mother, where’s my red blouse?

mother noun (EXTREME THING)

[ U ]
the largest or most extreme example of something:
They got caught in a mother of a storm.
mother
verb [ T ]
us
/ˈmʌð·ər/

mother verb [T] (PARENT)

to treat someone with kindness and affection and try to protect that person from danger or difficulty:
Leave me alone – I don’t need to be mothered.
(Definition of mother from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
What is the pronunciation of mother?
 
A1

Translations of mother

in Chinese (Traditional)
雙親之一, 母親, 媽媽…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
双亲之一, 母亲, 妈妈…
See more
in Spanish
madre, masa madre, madre [feminine…
See more
in Portuguese
mãe, mãe [feminine]…
See more
in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
आई…
See more
（私の）母, お母さん, お母さん（子供が母親に呼びかけるときに使う ‘‘mom’’ ‘‘mum’’ より硬い）…
See more
anne, ana, Ana…
See more
mère [feminine], mère, Mère…
See more
mare…
See more
moeder, moeder-overste, bemoederen…
See more
ஒரு பெண் பெற்றோர்…
See more
माँ…
See more
માં…
See more
mor, -mor, abbedisse…
See more
moder, mor, abbedissa…
See more
ibu, pemimpin biarawati, mengambil berat seperti ibu…
See more
die Mutter, Mutter-…, Mutter…
See more
mor [masculine], mor, abbedisse…
See more
ماں…
See more
мати, ігуменя, ставитися по-материнському…
See more
мать…
See more
తల్లిదండ్రులలో ఆడ వ్యక్తి లేదా తల్లి…
See more
أُمّ, أمّ…
See more
মা, জননী…
See more
matka, mateřský, matka představená…
See more
ibu, Pemimpin Biarawati, merawat…
See more
แม่, คุณแม่อธิการ, เลี้ยงดู…
See more
mẹ, Mẹ (tôn giáo), chăm sóc…
See more
matka, mama, matka przełożona…
See more
어머니…
See more
madre, usato per rivolgersi alla madre in modo più formale di “mum” o “mom”, mamma…
See more
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool
 

Browse

moth-eaten
mothball
mothballed
mothballing
mother
mother country
mother figure
Mother Nature
mother ship
has been added to list
To top
Contents
EnglishAmericanTranslations
English (UK)   Change
English (UK) English (US) Español Русский Português Deutsch Français Italiano 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Polski 한국어 Türkçe 日本語 Tiếng Việt Nederlands Svenska Dansk Norsk हिंदी বাঙ্গালি मराठी ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు Українська
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended
  • Definitions
    Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English
    English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus
    Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English
    Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation
    British and American pronunciations with audio
    English Pronunciation
  • Translation
    Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
    Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries
    English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus
    Word Lists
Contents
My word lists

Add mother to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to your word lists
Tell us about this example sentence: