1moth·er 
/ˈmʌðɚ/ noun
plural moth·ers /ˈmʌðɚ/ noun 1 [count] : a female parent
▪ She became a mother when she was in her 20s. ▪ She's the mother of three small children. ▪ She has been like a mother to me. ▪ Our dog is the mother of all those puppies. ▪ She has always been close to her mother. ▪ an expectant mother [=a woman who is pregnant] ▪ She is a single mother. [=a mother who does not have a husband or partner] — see also birth mother, grandmother, queen mother, stepmother, surrogate mother 2 [count] : a woman who is thought of as being like a mother
▪ She was a mother to me after my own mother died. — see also den mother 3 a [count] : a woman who invents or begins something — usually singular ▪ She is regarded as the mother of an entire industry. ▪ the mother of an important social movement
b [singular] : a cause or origin of something
▪ Some say that scandal is the mother of reform. 4 [count] : mother superior — used especially as a title or as a form of address ▪ Mother Teresa ▪ Thank you, Mother. 5 [singular] informal — used to say that something is larger, better, worse, etc., than all other things of the same kind ▪ It has been described as the mother of all construction projects. [=an extremely large construction project] 6 [count] US, offensive : motherfucker
▪ That guy is one mean mother.
▪ She became a mother when she was in her 20s. ▪ She's the mother of three small children. ▪ She has been like a mother to me. ▪ Our dog is the mother of all those puppies. ▪ She has always been close to her mother. ▪ an expectant mother [=a woman who is pregnant] ▪ She is a single mother. [=a mother who does not have a husband or partner] — see also birth mother, grandmother, queen mother, stepmother, surrogate mother
▪ She was a mother to me after my own mother died. — see also den mother
b [singular] : a cause or origin of something
▪ Some say that scandal is the mother of reform.
▪ That guy is one mean mother.
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
— moth·er·hood /ˈmʌðɚˌhʊd/ noun [noncount]
▪ She is looking forward to marriage and motherhood.
/ˈmʌðɚˌhʊd/ noun [noncount] ▪ She is looking forward to marriage and motherhood.
— moth·er·less /ˈmʌðɚləs/ adjective
▪ Her death left three motherless children. ▪ a motherless calf
/ˈmʌðɚləs/ adjective ▪ Her death left three motherless children. ▪ a motherless calf
