mother

Less common meanings

4. 4
   tend lovinglyverbtransitive

   To care for and nurture someone as a mother would be expected to treat her child.

   She mothered her younger siblings after their parents died.

   He felt smothered by colleagues who tried to mother him at work.

   UsageSaid of adults it can suggest fussing too much: colleagues who try to mother you.

   Similarnurture, baby, coddle, pamper

   Oppositeneglect

5. 5
   head nunnouncountable

   The woman who presides over a religious community or house, as an abbess or prioress does.

   Mother Superior granted the sisters permission to travel for the pilgrimage.

   The novices lined up to greet the Reverend Mother, who had led the convent for thirty years.

   UsageAs a title it takes a capital: Mother Superior, Mother Agnes.

   Similarabbess, prioress, superior

6. 6
   greatest of allnoun

   The greatest, biggest, or most striking example of something, usually in 'the mother of all' or 'the mother of a'.

   The general promised the mother of all battles before the campaign began.

   Their merger became the mother of all corporate deals that decade.

   UsageMostly the mother of all + plural or mass noun, the mother of all battles, with a note of mock grandeur.

   Note

   The mother of all form spread from the Gulf crisis: Iraq's leadership warned in September 1990 that a war would be the mother of all battles, and on January 17, 1991, Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad state radio that "the mother of all battles has begun." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Iraq's leadership warned in September 1990 that a war would be the mother of all battles. rand.org
   • On January 17, 1991, Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad state radio that the mother of all battles had begun. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   ancestornounfigurativelycountable

   A female ancestor from whom a line is descended.

   Scientists trace every living person's mitochondrial DNA back to one ancient mother.

   The clan's songs honor the mother of their line, a woman who lived centuries ago.

   Similarancestor, matriarch

8. 8
   give birthverbtransitive

   To give birth to or produce a child as its female parent.

   Q's sister, Debbie, had mothered two kids by the time she was twenty, with neither of the fathers in sight.

   1998, Nina Revoyr, The Necessary Hunger: A Novel

   Zilpah, Leah's maid, mothered two sons for Jacob, Gad and Asher. Leah became pregnant once more and had two more sons, Issachar, and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah, thus Leah had seven children for Jacob.

   2010, Lynette Joseph-Bani, The Biblical Journey of Slavery: From Egypt to the Americas

   UsageOften counts children: mothered twelve children. Context must show birth rather than care.

   Similarbear, birth, produce

   Note

   The verb was made from the noun in Middle English (modren), and it pairs with father: to mother a child is to bear it, as to father one is to beget it. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The verb derives from the noun through Middle English modren. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   vulgar slangnounslangmildly vulgareuphemisticcountable

   A clipped, softened form of "motherfucker", used for a person or thing regarded with contempt, awe, or grudging respect.

   Crank that mother up to full volume!

   The tough old mother just wouldn't back down in a fight.

   Similarsucker

   Note

   A clipping that softens the full oath without losing its punch. It often points at things rather than people: "Disco Inferno" (1976) urges setting one on fire, Slim Randles (1989) writes "fire that mother up," and Beyoncé (2011) asks who is in charge of one.

10. 10
    idolnounslangcountable

    A person who is admired, respected, or looked up to within a particular fandom or community.

    On social media, fans hailed the singer as mother after her stunning awards-night performance.

    Fans screamed 'Mother!' as the singer stepped onto the stage.

    UsageOften used without an article: she's mother, Mother!

    Similaricon, idol, queen

    Note

    Praise that began in drag slang and spread through Stan Twitter. Calling someone mother marks them as the figure a fandom looks up to, and it often appears without an article, as in "He's been mother to this whole community." It keeps company with ballroom and drag praise words such as serve and slay. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The fandom praise sense originated in drag slang and spread through Stan Twitter. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    vinegar starternouncountable or uncountable

    A slimy film of cellulose, acetic acid bacteria and sometimes yeast that forms on fermenting wine or cider and, using oxygen from the air, turns the alcohol into vinegar.

    Over several weeks a pale mother thickened across the surface of the unfinished wine.

    Home brewers often share a piece of mother to kick-start vinegar fermentation in fresh cider.

    UsageAlso called mother of vinegar; a portion is a piece of mother.

    Note

    A vinegar-maker's noun usually traced to the same word as the family sense, though it feels far from it. The verb to develop mother, said of wine or cider, is built on it. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The verb meaning to develop mother derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    senior womannounfigurativelycountable

    Any woman of advanced age, particularly one belonging to a specific community.

    The church mothers, all in their eighties, sat together in the front pew.

    The young pastor never changed a hymn without first asking Mother Wilson, the congregation's oldest member.

    UsageAs a title before a name, Mother Wilson; also church mothers for the older women of a congregation.

    Similarmatriarch, elder

13. 13
    genetic donornouncountable

    A woman whose egg, or a body cell in cloning, supplies the genetic material of a child or clone; a genetic mother.

    The genetic mother provided the egg, while a surrogate carried the pregnancy.

    Every cell in the clone traces back to one body cell from the mother.

    UsageUse genetic mother to distinguish genetic parenthood from carrying the pregnancy. Biological mother can refer to either.

14. 14
    name for wifenoundated

    A dated term of address that a husband uses for his wife.

    'What do you think, Mother?' the old farmer asked his wife across the table.

    He patted his wife's hand and said, 'Don't fret, Mother, the harvest will come in.'

    Note

    An old-fashioned habit of married speech: a husband addressing his wife as mother. Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) has a man calling "Hullo, mother! Got any supper…" as he nears the house. Walter Hackett's For the Duration (1944) still has a husband enter with "Hello, mother." Used today, it sounds deliberately folksy or old-fashioned. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Stephen Leacock wrote Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, first published in 1912. fadedpage.com
    • A husband calls the quoted greeting to his wife as he approaches their house. en.wikisource.org
    • Walter Hackett's For the Duration contains the greeting Hello, mother. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    address in-lawnoundated

    A respectful title for one's mother-in-law, especially when used before her surname.

    'Welcome home, Mother Davenport,' the new bride said, taking her mother-in-law's coat.

    After the wedding, she wrote to her husband's mother, opening with 'Dear Mother Hayes.'

    Note

    A courtesy title from older family etiquette. Because the usage is dated, it now reads as period color rather than as an ordinary way to introduce or greet someone. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Mother is a dated respectful title for one's mother-in-law, used before her surname. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    nounobsolete

    Hysteria or uncontrolled emotional passion; also the uterus, once believed to be its source.

    St Botolph's parish records ascribed three deaths to 'mother', an old name for the uterus.

    1979, Thomas R. Forbes, “The changing face of death in London”

    The Root hereof taken with Zedoary and Angelică, or without them, helps the rising of the Mother.

    1666, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physitian Enlarged

    Note

    Older medicine linked violent emotion to the womb, so one word named both. The set phrase was the rising of the mother, which Robert Lovel (1659) and Nicholas Culpeper (1653) offer herbs to relieve. Shakespeare's Lear says "how this mother swells up toward my heart." Parish records even ascribed deaths to "mother." Treat it strictly as a historical term. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts

    • Historical medicine associated hysteria and emotional disturbance with the womb. en.wikipedia.org
    • Mother historically denoted both hysterical passion and the uterus. en.wiktionary.org
    • The phrase rising of the mother occurred in herbal treatment recommendations. archive.org
    • Robert Lovel recommended treatment for rising of the mother. en.wiktionary.org
    • Pambotanologia, sive Enchiridion botanicum was first published in 1659; 1665 is a later edition. wellcomecollection.org
    • The English Physitian Enlarged was first published in 1653; 1666 is a later edition. sourcelibrary.org
    • Shakespeare wrote the quoted words. shakespeare.mit.edu
    • Parish records attributed deaths to mother. en.wiktionary.org
17. 17
    verb

    Of wine, cider, or other alcoholic liquid, to develop mother and turn to vinegar, or to be made to do so.
18. 18
    noun

    A metal disc produced from the electrotyped master, used to make the stampers that press phonograph records.
19. 19
    noun

    A locomotive that provides electrical power to a slug, an unpowered unit used for extra traction.
20. 20
    noun

    The chief component of an astrolabe, serving as the frame in which its other pieces are set.