mother
mother [mother mothers mothered mothering] noun, verb BrE [ˈmʌðə(r)] NAmE [ˈmʌðər]
noun
1. a female parent of a child or animal; a person who is acting as a mother to a child
• I want to buy a present for my mother and father.
•the relationship between mother and baby
• She's the mother of twins.
•a mother of three (= with three children)
•an expectant (= pregnant) mother
•She was a wonderful mother to both her natural and adopted children.
•the mother chimpanzee caring for her young
2. the title of a woman who is head of a ↑convent (= a community of ↑nuns )
see also ↑Mother Superior
more at necessity is the mother of invention at ↑necessity, old enough to be sb's father/mother at ↑old
Word Origin:
Old English mōdor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch moeder and German Mutter, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin mater and Greek mētēr.
Thesaurus:
mother noun C
•She's the proud mother of twins.
parent • • stepmother • • guardian • |BrE, informal, especially spoken mum • • mummy • |AmE, informal, especially spoken mom • • mommy • |especially AmE, informal folks •
a good/bad mother/parent/mum/mom
sb's new mother/parent/stepmother/mum/mom
become a/sb's mother/parent/stepmother/guardian/mum/mom
Mother or mum? In spoken English mum/mom is much more frequent. It can sound formal to say my mother.
Example Bank:
•Her distraught mother had spent all night waiting by the phone.
•She felt proud that she had raised four children as a lone mother.
•She inherited the urge to travel from her mother.
•The boys were like their father, but Louise took after her mother.
•The court decided she was an unfit mother.
•The two boys were like their father in character, but Louise took after her mother.
•caring for his sick mother
•his beloved mother
•the proud mother of the bride
•She's the mother of twins.
•This is my mother, Joan.
•an expectant mother
Idioms: ↑at your mother's knee ▪ ↑mother of something
verb ~ sb/sth
to care for sb/sth because you are their mother, or as if you were their mother
• He was a disturbed child who needed mothering.
• Stop mothering me!
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
Old English mōdor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch moeder and German Mutter, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin mater and Greek mētēr.
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