parent

American  

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

noun

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

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

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”

Example Sentences

We parent as a team who spends holidays together and we will head to Coachella soon to complain about the bus lines amid total exhaustion yet again.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

That risk increases to 10 percent if a parent or sibling is affected, and rises to 50 percent for identical twins.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

But if they went to court over it, custody would only be awarded to one parent.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

SpaceX, which dominates the space launch market with its reusable rockets, is owned by Musk alongside several investment funds and tech companies including Google's parent Alphabet.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

“He’s a born Weller,” laughed Jo, as her parent gathered himself up, and her nephew tried to stand on his head, as the only mode of expressing his satisfaction that school was over.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Related Words

• father
• mother