An Encylopedia Britannica Company

mother

1 mother /ˈmʌðɚ/ noun
plural mothers
1 mother
/ˈmʌðɚ/
noun
plural mothers
Britannica Dictionary definition of MOTHER
[count] : a female parent
see also birth mother, grandmother, queen mother, stepmother, surrogate mother
[count] : a woman who is thought of as being like a mother see also den mother
[count] : a woman who invents or begins something usually singular
[singular] : a cause or origin of something
[count] : mother superior used especially as a title or as a form of address
[singular] informal used to say that something is larger, better, worse, etc., than all other things of the same kind

learn (something) at your mother's knee

see 1knee

necessity is the mother of invention

used to say that new ways to do things are found or created when there is a strong and special need for them

— motherhood

/ˈmʌðɚˌhʊd/ noun [noncount]

— motherless

/ˈmʌðɚləs/ adjective
2 mother /ˈmʌðɚ/ verb
mothers; mothered; mothering
2 mother
/ˈmʌðɚ/
verb
mothers; mothered; mothering
Britannica Dictionary definition of MOTHER
[+ object]
: to give birth to (a child)
: to be or act as mother to (someone) : to care for or protect (someone) like a mother

— mothering

/ˈmʌðərɪŋ/ noun [noncount]

— mothering

adjective