parent

American  

[pair-uhnt, par-] / ˈpɛər ənt, ˈpær- /

noun

• parents
  plural

1. a father or a mother.

2. an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor.

3. a source, origin, or cause.

4. a protector or guardian.

5. Biology. any organism that produces or generates another.

6. Physics. the first nuclide in a radioactive series.

---

adjective

1. being the original source.

   a parent organization.

2. Biology. pertaining to an organism, cell, or complex molecular structure that generates or produces another.

   parent cell;

   parent DNA.

verb (used with object)

1. to be or act as parent of.

   to parent children with both love and discipline.

parent British  

/ ˈpɛərənt /

noun

1. a father or mother

2. a person acting as a father or mother; guardian

3. rare an ancestor

4. a source or cause

5. 1. an organism or organization that has produced one or more organisms or organizations similar to itself

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent organism

6. physics chem

   1. a precursor, such as a nucleus or compound, of a derived entity

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent nucleus

      a parent ion

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonparent
  noun
• parenthood
  noun
• parentless
  adjective
• parentlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parent

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin parent-, stem of parēns, noun use of present participle of parere “to bring forth, breed”

Explanation

A parent is a mother or father. Your mom and your dad are your parents, and one of their jobs is to parent you. We're all born to parents, and many of us also have step parents, foster parents, or adoptive parents who parent us. You might also use parent to talk about plants and animals; maybe your new puppy's parents were dog show champions, for example. Things that act as the source or owner of something else are also parents, like a parent company that owns the local bookshop. The Latin root is parere, "give birth to, produce."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parent parents

British Airways parent IAG and Spain's Iberia had also considered bidding to add TAP's network to their own operations, before abandoning the contest.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Genetic testing revealed that Gary and Shaggy each had two altered copies of FBN1, having inherited one from each parent.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

The company has pursued a strategy of signing partnerships with robotaxi providers rather than providing its own self-driving vehicles, setting it apart from Tesla and Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The government said it had "committed to ensuring every bereaved parent and family has access to high-quality, consistent and compassionate care".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Most had at least one parent with them.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

Seven in 10 parents who live near loved ones identify as members of the sandwich generation — those who are simultaneously supporting young children and aging relatives.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

In Fresno, the children of Noelia Bautista and Cipriano Lopez launched a GoFundMe after their parents were detained.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Earlier this month, the government announced extra charges for parents sitting with their children when flying would be scrapped in time for next year's summer holidays.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

I have only seen a couple of patients emotionally nourished as children who abandoned their parents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The man had lived in the same place all his life, as his parents and grandparents had before him.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

Related Words

• father
• mother