👩‍👦 A female parent 🤱 To care for 👩‍🍼 To give birth 👵 An elderly woman 🧫 A fermentation layer

mother

1 9.6

A stringy slimy mass of yeast and bacteria that forms in vinegar

noun
/ˈmʌðər/

Specialized

: madre del vinagre

All of the mothers were married, and 62% were 39 years of age or younger.

Like, it's like the bacteria colony in a kombucha mother that you put into kombucha.

Examples

This is a baby mother from my kombucha.
A mother culture is essential for brewing high-quality kombucha at home.
For example, many households are headed by single mothers, often with their own mothers' help.

Academic text (1997)
Will strokes the mother's head, looking at the miracle of new life.

Fiction book (1996)
Most respondents were mothers (85.7%), and the remainder were fathers (8.7%), grandmothers (3.6%), or other caregivers (2%).

Academic text (2015)
The vinegar's flavor improved after adding a piece of mother from a previous batch.
When making homemade vinegar, you need to add mother to start the fermentation process.

Idioms

mother of all

Informal

35 7.8

A very large, extreme event like a storm or party

fuck your mother

Offensive

7 9.9

A very rude insult that shows extreme anger at someone by insulting their mother

Sweet Mary mother of God

1 9.9

A strong cry showing surprise or shock

Compounds

mother-in-law

126 1.6

The mother of your husband or wife

birth mother

62 3.6

A woman who has a baby but is not the child's legal or social mother

mother lode

Informal

19 6.8

A large rich source of valuable things like gold or information

foster mother

16 3.0

A woman who cares for a child who is not her own

queen mother

Formal

14 6.1

The mother of the current king or queen who keeps the title after her child becomes ruler

surrogate mother

12 4.3

A woman who becomes pregnant to have a baby for another person or couple

unwed mother

12 3.4

A woman who has a child and is not married

mother superior

10 7.8

A woman who is in charge of a group of nuns in a convent

mother-of-pearl

7 6.0

A smooth shiny layer inside some shells that shows rainbow colours and is used for decoration

mother tongue

6 2.7

The first language a person learns at home

Mother Goose

Literature

6 4.5

An imaginary old woman who writes nursery rhymes and fairy tales

den mother

5 6.7

A woman who looks after and supports a group of children or young people

mother hen

Informal

5 5.1

A person who cares for and protects others and often worries about them

mother figure

4 3.2

A woman who cares for and guides someone like a parent

second mother

3 4.3

A woman who cares for someone like a mother, often with or instead of their own mother

mother country

3 3.5

The country where you were born or the one you feel most connected to

Great Mother

3 9.1

A figure in modern spiritual beliefs who represents Earth as a caring mother

earth mother

2 4.5

A caring person who loves nature, grows plants, and helps others with gardening

earth mother

Literature

2 8.5

A female spirit who represents the Earth and gives life and fertility

den mother

Jargon

1 6.5

A woman who leads a small group of Cub Scouts and plans their activities

Great Mother

Literature

1 9.9

An ancient Phrygian goddess worshipped for nature and fertility, often shown with lions

mother hen

1 2.9

A hen that has chicks and cares for them

Mother Hubbard

Archaic

1 9.9

A loose dress without a belt that falls straight from the shoulders, with a high neck and long sleeves

mother of all storms

Informal

1 7.7

A very strong storm that causes great damage and danger

refrigerator mother

Slur

1 9.9

A mother wrongly blamed in the past for causing her child's autism because she seemed cold

mother cell

Specialized

1 6.5

A cell that makes another cell during the growth or reproduction of a living thing

mother wit

1 9.9

Natural practical sense a person is born with, not learned at school

mother-in-law plant

1 8.8

An indoor plant with large dark leaves that can make your tongue and throat swell if eaten

foster-mother

1 3.4

A woman who cares for a child who is not her own

mother-in-law's tongue

1 5.5

A houseplant with long upright thick leaves often called snake plant

Mother Hubbard's cupboard

Archaic

1 9.9

A cupboard or pantry that has no food

mother-naked

NSFW

1 9.9

Completely without clothes like a new baby

mother of thyme

1 9.9

A low, fragrant plant with small purple and white flowers that grows close to the ground

mother-of-pearl cloud

1 9.9

A high cloud that looks shiny with rainbow colors around sunrise or after sunset

mother-of-thousands

1 9.9

A small plant with many red and white flowers that spreads by long thin stems

Mother Carey's chicken

9.9

A small seabird that flies low over the sea and often appears before storms

Mother Carey's hen

9.9

A small seabird that flies low over the sea, often near storms

mother-hive

9.6

A busy place that helps people and ideas grow

mother-hive of artisans

9.9

A place where many skilled craft workers learn and make things

Mother Thumb

Baby Talk

8.6

A small nursery rhyme character a child shows on their thumb to teach finger names

Mother Thumb and her four daughters

Baby Talk

9.9

A simple game for children using the thumb and four fingers to help them move well

spore mother cell

Specialized

9.3

A cell in plants, fungi, or algae that divides to make four spores with half the usual genes

Surface Forms

mother singular

mothers plural

Etymology

In cooking and drink making, the mother is the slimy mass that starts new vinegar, and people called it mother because it is the 'parent' or source of the new drink. That's why finding a mother means the vinegar grew naturally.