- 1a female parent of a child or animal; a person who is acting as a mother to a child I want to buy a present for my mother and father. the relationship between mother and baby She's the mother of twins. a mother of three (= with three children) an expectant (= pregnant) mother She was a wonderful mother to both her natural and adopted children. the mother chimpanzee caring for her young
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- 2the title of a woman who is head of a convent (= a community of nuns) see Mother Superior Idioms
when you were very young I learned these songs at my mother's knee.
used to emphasize that something is very large, unpleasant, important, etc. I got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams.
a difficult new problem forces people to think of a solution to it
very much older than someone (especially used to suggest that a romantic relationship between the two people is not appropriate)
Check pronunciation: mother