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.

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.