mother

A female parent of a person or animal.

• My mother lives nearby.
• The kitten stayed close to its mother.
• Her adoptive mother taught her to swim.

Similar words: mum, mom

Common phrases: my mother, mother of someone, single mother

A woman or female animal that is carrying a baby before birth.

• The mother is six months pregnant.
• Doctors checked the health of the mother and her unborn baby.
• Expectant mothers attended a class about birth.

Similar words: mother-to-be, expectant mother

Common phrases: expectant mother, pregnant mother, mother and fetus

Something from which another thing begins or develops.

• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• He called curiosity the mother of discovery.
• The poet described silence as the mother of wisdom.

How to use it: the mother of something (She saw patience as the mother of success.)

Similar words: source, origin

Common phrases: mother of invention, mother of something, mother of arts

To look after someone like a caring female parent, sometimes more than they want.

• She likes to mother everyone.
• He felt uncomfortable when his sister mothered him.
• Please stop mothering me; I can pack my own bag.

Similar words: care for, look after, nurture

Opposites: neglect

Common phrases: mother someone, stop mothering someone