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

Shakeira Fairfax, the mother of 25-year-old crew member Jada Fairfax, told Reuters there had been moments over the past few months when "morale was low".

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The defense for Lindsay Clancy, the US mother accused of murdering her three children, on Thursday accused a single holdout juror of blocking a verdict in the high-profile trial.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitríona Balfe, Kit Connor and Fred Hechinger star as members of a struggling family that begins to unravel after the mother disappears.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Telemachus is horrified that a boy would murder his own mother, but Menelaus sets him straight.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

His mother would have come back for him if he had been.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Flash forward another decade and it remains to be seen whether maternal mental healthcare — including the central question of how American society deals with mothers in extremis — has evolved.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

In remarks to the press after the trial, the female jurors — who were old enough to be the girls’ mothers — demonstrated “zero sympathy” for them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

The public disagrees about how to view murder in light of mental illness and the particular burdens shouldered by mothers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

In July, outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer issued a formal apology to those mothers, telling them: "The shame is not yours... the shame is ours."

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

He was only some kind of folk legend, a warning used by mothers when youngsters were fractious or disobedient.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Playing a childless, 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

These women had mothered us our entire lives; they deserved to rest after the death of their mami.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023

I was mothered, in many ways, by my friend Miss Major, a Black trans woman who lives in Little Rock, Ark., and was at the Stonewall riots.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

She had mothered him since he turned up in her bilingual-education classroom in Washington, D.C., a scrawny 10-year-old fresh from El Salvador.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 18, 2021

The desert has mothered magic things before this.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

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

There’s a mothering energy that we need more than ever right now, that every single person can unleash in their communities, families and local governments, whether or not they have children.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025

"When she was in town, she was very involved," is how she diplomatically sums up Cass's mothering style.

From BBC ● May 5, 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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