Definitions

mother

[muhth-er] / ˈmʌð ər /

NOUN

female person who has borne children

Synonyms

STRONGEST

mom parent

STRONG

ancestor creator mommy origin predecessor progenitor source

WEAK

child-bearer forebearer procreator

Antonyms

STRONG

descendant effect end result

WEAK

father

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for mother?

There are many synonyms for mother. The most common is mom, which is an informal, familiar version of mother. The equivalent mum is commonly used in the U.K. and other places. An even more informal and familiar word is mommy, which is especially used by children. A similarly informal word is mama (and its alternate spellings momma and mamma). All of these terms should be capitalized when they’re used as a way of addressing someone (in other words, when they’re used as a name or a substitute for a name). A mother is a parent. A term that specifically references the role of a mother in bearing a child is child-bearer. The term birthing parent is sometimes used as a gender-neutral term in the context of pregnancy and childbirth. A mother who’s the leader of a family might be called a matriarch. Because mothers are traditionally associated with nurture and caregiving, related words are sometimes used as synonyms, such as nurturer and caregiver. Mother is also sometimes used as a verb meaning to care for someone as a mother or like a mother. Sometimes, it’s used in a negative way that implies that a person is smothering or being overbearing toward the person, as in Please don’t mother me—I can take care of myself.

How do you use mother in a sentence?

Mother is most commonly used as a noun, but it can also be a verb. As a noun, it’s capitalized when it’s used as a name or a substitute for a name. Here are some examples of mother in a sentence:

I’ve always wanted to be a mother.
You should really listen to Mother—she has your best interests in mind.
It’s just her nature to try to mother anyone who looks like they need help.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

mother mothers mothered mothering

In the late 1980s, the Schwartzes were known as “the mother and father of aerobics.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

"I think Samos was the perfect place to start," the 21-year-old university student said, wheeling her luggage alongside her mother as they waited for a ferry off the Greek island of Samos.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

"We import the certified mother plant from the breeder abroad," says Nelson Sequeira, the founder and director of Tara Farms Fresh, a licensed strawberry propagator.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Ms. Barrett is the mother of a healthy girl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

I did sense in her eyes the depth of the grief she was still suffering after the loss of her mother.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

It also found one in three mothers reduced their hours, and 5% had to leave work entirely.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The dose was low enough that the mothers did not become significantly ill.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

“Techniquely,” refreshingly, is about teaching foodies the things that their mothers and Julia Child never taught them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

In the last two years, 75 mothers have received childcare grants or, as Montaño describes, the “opportunity to be whole.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

“Black mothers held their babies and watched with great satisfaction as we marched toward the courthouse.”

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

Playing a vain, pitch-perfect vision of Los Angeles’ wickedness in “Maps to the Stars,” Julianne Moore mothered so hard she almost separated California right down the San Andreas fault line.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

She mothered her 7-year-old daughter, Dariela, straining to distract her from the fact that her little brother was missing.

From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024

Missing being mothered has driven her to cultivate her Spanish skills, after a college counselor hints that “focusing on a new syntax of any kind could become an escape hatch into new habits of mind.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 13, 2023

And in every twist and turn of this whole thing, these two women, they mothered each other...

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2022

Davy baked and left cookies on my bed, and she always monitored my health and mothered me with homemade soup when I was sick.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Would my mothering improve before the baby was born?

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

In her new Netflix movie “Goodbye June,” she’s the one who needs mothering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

Reflecting on her character's journey in the film, Adams explained: "Through her parenting - through her mothering - she got in touch with something bigger and something primal."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024

But the mothering role has been usurped by Roman’s mother, Tara, with whom the couple lives in Adamsville, N.Y., a small town undergoing a post-COVID gentrification.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2024

Instead, she said to me out of the blue, “You don’t get much mothering, do you?”

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

Vocabulary lists containing mother

The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr

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