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.

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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

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

Robert Pattinson, who welcomed his first child with Suki Waterhouse in March 2024, says that as a parent, the events depicted in his new film are "terrifying"

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Sometimes it takes until nearly midnight for the final player to be picked up by a parent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

"It's both the most terrifying thing that can happen to you, whether you're a parent, or even if you're not," he told BBC News at the film's screening at London Film Festival.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Then the parent should take a few days to reflect on what they heard, call their child back and keep the dialogue going.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

I really thought he was still speaking of the fowl, until he added, “Because I have got an aged parent at my place.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Although rare, cancer is the leading cause of death from disease among children under 15 in the UK - yet just under a third of parents say they feel confident recognising the symptoms.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

A forbidding housing market is pushing many home buyers to bank on their parents for help.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

He speaks to young kids from low-income neighborhoods across the Central Valley, some of whom have undocumented parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Prof Bob Phillips, a paediatric oncologist, says it's key for parents to look out for clusters of symptoms that may be persisting, getting worse or bigger.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

“So, you won’t tell my parents what we talk about? Even though my mom’s paying for this?”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• father
• mother