mother

Word family  noun mother motherhood mothering adjective motherly motherless verb mother

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++moth·er1 /ˈmʌðə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable]  1  MOTHERa female parent of a child or animal 母亲，妈妈；母兽，母畜，母禽 His mother and father are both doctors. 他的父母都是医生。mother of two/three etc (=mother of two/three etc children) 两个/三个等孩子的母亲 Janet is a full-time teacher and a mother of two. 珍妮特是全职教师，还是两个孩子的母亲。 the relationship between mother and child 母亲和孩子之间的关系 Goodnight, Mother. 晚安，妈妈。 Mother said they’d met at university. 母亲说他们是在大学里认识的。 If food is scarce, the mother will feed the smaller, weaker chicks. 如果食物稀少，母禽就喂较小、较弱的幼禽。mother cat/bird/hen etc (=an animal that is a mother) 母猫/雌鸟/母鸡等2  be (like) a mother to somebody MOTHERto care for someone as if you were their mother 像母亲般照料某人 She’s like a mother to them. If they need anything she always helps out. 她就像他们的母亲一样，他们需要什么她总是帮忙解决。3. like a mother hen PROTECTif someone behaves like a mother hen, they try to protect their children too much and worry about them all the time 像只老母鸡〔指过分保护子女并时时为他们操心〕4  learn/be taught something at your mother’s knee LEARNto learn something when you are a very young child 年幼时就学习/被教会某事 the prayers which he had been taught at his mother’s knee 他在母亲的膝头上学会的祷告5  the mother of something a) COME FROM/ORIGINATEthe origin or cause of something …之母，…的根由[根源] Westminster is known as ‘the mother of parliaments’. 威斯敏斯特以“议会之母”闻名。 Necessity is the mother of invention (=people have good ideas when the situation makes it necessary). 需求是发明之母。 b) informalBAD a very severe or extreme type of something, usually something bad 很严重[极端]的某事 I woke up with the mother of all hangovers. 我醒来时宿醉反应很严重。6  spoken especially American EnglishBIG something very large and usually very good 大家伙〔一般指很好的东西〕 a real mother of a car 真正的巨型好车7. American English taboo spokenINSULTDON'T LIKE motherfucker 混账东西，杂种n8. → Mothern THESAURUSmother a female parentMy mother and father are both teachers.mum British English informal, mom American English informal used when talking to your father, or about someone’s fatherMy mum and dad won’t mind if you want to stay the night.Mom, where’s my sweater?mummy British English, mommy American English a name for mother, which is used especially by young children or when you are talking to young childrenWhere’s Mummy, Abbie?ma American English old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone’s motherMa stirred the soup on the stove.mama old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone’s motherMama seldom disagreed with Papa.stepmother (also stepmum British English informal, stepmom American English informal) a woman who is married to your father, who is not your mother but often acts as your parentthe wicked stepmother in fairy stories

Examples from the Corpus

mother• Mother just loved crossword puzzles.• a mother hen and her chicks• Like most mothers, I always feel anxious when my children come home late.• My mother and father are both teachers.• My mother says I have to be home by 9 o'clock.• The 29-year-old mother of two was attacked while walking her dog in woods near her home.• a real mother of a car• As a single mother, Linda relies on state benefits which are nowhere near enough.nMotherRRCused to address the woman who is in charge of a convent 院长嬤嬤〔对女修道院院长的称呼〕mother2 verb [transitive]  MOTHERto look after and protect someone as if you were their mother, especially by being too kind and doing everything for them 像母亲般照管；〔尤指〕溺爱 I don’t like being mothered! 我不喜欢有人像妈妈一样管着我！→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

mother• Fair enough-invention had been successfully mothered again by NECessity.• She mothered all of them in a way that Jennie could not now she was becoming more erratic.• But why discuss mothering alone in a book about redefining motherhood?• Brenda just tries to mother everyone.• A new kind of mothering exists between these two extremes, at the locus of self.• In such societies girls learn mothering from their earliest years, usually by mothering their brothers and sisters.Origin mother1 Old English modor

moth·er1 noun →n THESAURUS1Mothermother2 verbLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable  

Corpus of parent animal child or female a a

mother

I

moth‧er¹ S1 W1 /ˈmʌðə $ -ər/ noun [countable]1. a female parent of a child or animal:
    His mother and father are both doctors.
    mother of two/three etc (=mother of two/three etc children)
    Janet is a full-time teacher and a mother of two.
    the relationship between mother and child
    Goodnight, Mother.
    Mother said they’d met at university.
    If food is scarce, the mother will feed the smaller, weaker chicks.
    mother cat/bird/hen etc (=an animal that is a mother)
2. be (like) a mother to somebody to care for someone as if you were their mother:
    She’s like a mother to them. If they need anything she always helps out.
3. like a mother hen if someone behaves like a mother hen, they try to protect their children too much and worry about them all the time
4. learn/be taught something at your mother’s knee to learn something when you are a very young child:
    the prayers which he had been taught at his mother’s knee
5. the mother of something
  a. the origin or cause of something:
    Westminster is known as ‘the mother of parliaments’.
    Necessity is the mother of invention (=people have good ideas when the situation makes it necessary).
  b. informal a very severe or extreme type of something, usually something bad:
    I woke up with the mother of all hangovers.
6. spoken especially American English something very large and usually very good:
    a real mother of a car
7. American English taboo spoken motherfucker
8. Mother
  used to address the woman who is in charge of a convent
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ mother a female parent: My mother and father are both teachers.
   ▪ mum British English informal, mom American English informal used when talking to your father, or about someone's father: My mum and dad won’t mind if you want to stay the night. | Mom, where’s my sweater?
   ▪ mummy British English, mommy American English a name for mother, which is used especially by young children or when you are talking to young children: Where’s Mummy, Abbie?
   ▪ ma American English old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone's mother: Ma stirred the soup on the stove.
   ▪ mama old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone's mother: Mama seldom disagreed with Papa.
   ▪ stepmother (also stepmum British English informal, stepmom American English informal) a woman who is married to your father, who is not your mother but often acts as your parent: the wicked stepmother in fairy stories

II

mother² verb [transitive]to look after and protect someone as if you were their mother, especially by being too kind and doing everything for them:
    I don’t like being mothered!