mother

Definitions

1. noun

   A woman who has a child.

   Examples

   • I am visiting my mother this weekend.
   • The lioness was a mother of four cubs.
2. noun

   A woman in relation to her own children.

   Examples

   • My sister in law has just become a mother for the first time.
   • He had something of his mother in him.
3. noun

   A woman who is carrying an unborn baby.

   Examples

   • The mother passes food and oxygen to the baby.
   • The doctor checked the health of the mother.
4. noun

   A woman who gives an egg or cell that is used to create a baby or clone.

   Examples

   • The clinic keeps records of every egg mother.
   • Scientists traced the genes back to the donor mother.
   ≈biological mother
5. noun

   A female ancestor.

   Examples

   • Eve was named the mother of all living.
   • Their great grandmother was the mother of a long line of farmers.
6. noun

   A source or origin of something.

   Examples

   • The Mediterranean was mother to many cultures.
   • Necessity is the mother of invention.
   ≈matrix
7. noun

   The biggest or most important example, in mother of all.

   Examples

   • He said the mother of all battles had begun.
   • It was the mother of all traffic jams.
   ≈Big One≈father≈grandfather≈granddaddy
8. noun

   A respectful title for a mother in law.

   Examples

   • Mother Smith, meet my cousin, Doug Jones.
   • He always greeted his wife's mother as Mother Brown.
9. noun

   A way some people address their wife.

   Examples

   • Hello, mother, how are you?
   • Mother, dinner is ready whenever you are.
10. noun

    An older woman respected in a community.

    Examples

    • The village mother gave advice to every new bride.
    • She was known as the mother of the whole street.
    ≈matron≈matriarch