stepmother

[ step-muhth-er ]

noun

1. the wife, by a later marriage, of one's parent.

stepmother

/ ˈstɛpˌmʌðə /

noun

1. a woman who has married one's father after the death or divorce of one's mother

Other Words From

• step·moth·er·ly adverb
• step·moth·er·li·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stepmother¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English stepmoder, Old English stēopmōdor; step- + mother ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Billy Porter plays the Fairy Godmother, while fairy-tale icon Idina Menzel plays the villainous stepmother.

From Time

His father was distant and chilly, and then later, there was the evil stepmother.

From Time

She’s desperate to visit her father, who is vaccinated, but is waiting to make the trip, since her stepmother isn’t vaccinated and she hasn’t gotten her own second dose.

From Time

That night, I went to meet with Kooper’s father and stepmother at their house, which sits out on the edge of town, near a small cattle farm.

From ProPublica

My father and stepmother found me, at the very beginning of the episode, having paranoid delusions.

From Time

This was said to have created tension between his two grown daughters and their stepmother, who were known not to get along.

From The Daily Beast

Her father and stepmother both beat her, and she was forced to become a maid in her own house.

From The Daily Beast

On December 18, Kerri and her brother, Mike, told Piers Morgan on CNN about their grievances with their stepmother.

From The Daily Beast

My stepmother knew Rabbi Kahane through her political activism in the 80's and remained close with some of his confidantes.

From The Daily Beast

My relationship with Kahanism began in 2004, at the age of 10, when I moved to Israel to live with my father and stepmother.

From The Daily Beast

Upon the death of his stepmother, his stepfather arranged to get him appointed to West Point.

From Project Gutenberg

They have only one servant; and my stepmother and sisters do the greater part of the work.

From Project Gutenberg

Her stepmother shed a few tears, which were half-gratification.

From Project Gutenberg

He knew that she must have been poor and left in want when her stepmother had died.

From Project Gutenberg

No doubt Fanny had often stood up for Mary with her stepmother, and now Mary herself had cut the ground from under her feet.

From Project Gutenberg