bother

Formsbothers, bothering, bothered

Pluralbothers

1. 1
   verbtransitive

   To annoy, disturb, or irritate someone, or to cause them trouble.

   Don't let his rude comments bother you.

   The constant noise from the construction site bothered everyone in the office.

   Similarannoy, irritate, disturb, bug, vex

   Oppositeplease, soothe, calm

   Note

   The core sense has a shadowy past: English borrowed it from Scots bauther, whose origin is unknown, perhaps related to Scots pother, "to make a stir or commotion." Its subject is often a situation rather than a person, and it fits the polite request built on it and an if-clause: Would it bother you if I smoked? Among its synonyms, vex and irritate sound sharper, while bother stays closer to disturb and inconvenience.

2. 2
   verbcatenativeintransitive

   To take the trouble or make the effort to do something.

   She never bothers to lock the back door.

   I won't bother to explain it again.

   Similartrouble

   Note

   The verb links directly to a to-infinitive, so the effort and the action form a single phrase: bother to try, bother to lock, bother to explain. Questions and negatives suit it well. In Why do I even bother to try?, the speaker doubts the effort is worth making at all. Take the trouble and go to the trouble are its closest equivalents.

3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Trouble or inconvenience caused by having to deal with something.

   Fixing the leak turned out to be more bother than it was worth.

   He went to all that bother just to surprise her.

   Similartrouble, inconvenience, hassle, nuisance, annoyance

   Note

   Its natural setting is the polite reply it's no bother, said when agreeing to do someone a favor. The phrase plays down the effort so that the other person need not feel indebted. Like the "fuss" noun, it can be used as a countable or an uncountable noun.

4. 4
   verbintransitivereflexive

   To feel care or concern, or to inconvenience oneself out of concern for someone or something.

   He doesn't bother about appearances.

   Few people bothered about the rules back then.

   Similarcare, mind, worry

   Note

   Here the concern turns inward, and the verb usually takes a preposition: you bother about a matter, or bother with a thing, as in I wouldn't bother with an umbrella. It can also be reflexive (don't bother yourself about it). Henry James uses it in The American (1876), where Newman means to live life to the full without bothering about it.

5. 5
   verbcatenativeintransitive

   To take the trouble to do something that involves only negligible inconvenience.

   He couldn't bother to reply to such a simple message.

   She didn't bother flipping the switch on her way out.

   Similartrouble

   Note

   In practice it works as a reproach. Paired with didn't and even, it points at a small thing left undone, as in You didn't even bother to close the door. The smallness is the sting: the task would have cost almost nothing, so skipping it looks like indifference. It shares its to-infinitive grammar with the general "take the trouble" sense.

6. 6
   noununcountable

   Fuss or commotion, especially needless or excessive activity around something minor.

   All that bother over a missing spoon seemed ridiculous.

   The wedding caused weeks of bother for the whole family.

   Similarfuss, commotion, disturbance, ado, hubbub

   Note

   The noun ranges from a small commotion to the effort a task would cost. A bit of bother is a minor scene, such as a muddle at the hairdresser's over a lost appointment. Not worth the bother weighs a task against its nuisance, as Monty Munford does in 2015 when he decides against a fifteen-minute walk home for his phone. It can be used as a countable or an uncountable noun.

7. 7
   verbeuphemistictransitiveimperative

   Used as a mild oath to damn or curse something.

   Bother the expense. We're going anyway.

   She told him to bother the rules and do as he pleased.

   Similardamn, hang, blast, confound

   Note

   A curse with the sting removed: bother stands in for damn and works as a command aimed at whatever is in the way, as in Bother the expense. The euphemism keeps the shape of an oath while dropping its force, so it can be used in company where damn would jar. It makes the same move as the dated exclamation, but with an object attached.

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