bother

[ both-er ]

/ ˈbɒð ər /

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See synonyms for: bother / bothered / bothering / bothers on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to annoy; give trouble to; pester: His little sister kept bothering him for candy.

to cause unease, anxiety, or worry in (someone): I hadn't realized how much being in a small boat bothers me until we got into choppy waters.

to bewilder; confuse: His inability to understand the joke bothered him.

verb (used without object)

to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself: Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.

noun

something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying: Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.

effort, work, or worry: Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.

a worried or perplexed state: Don't get into such a bother about small matters.

someone or something that bothers or annoys: My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.

interjection

Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)

OTHER WORDS FOR bother

1 harass, vex, irritate; molest, disturb.

See synonyms for bother on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

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Origin of bother

First recorded in 1710–20; origin obscure; originally Hiberno-English; perhaps a hypercorrection of bodder, an alternative early form; perhaps a variant of pother

synonym study for bother

1. Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to provoke or irritate persistently with petty distractions.

OTHER WORDS FROM bother

un·both·ered, adjectiveun·both·er·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bother in a sentence

He hasn't bothered to visit Iguala, the place where the students were abducted and killed.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The speculation that the next Bond might be black has Rushbo all hot and bothered.
Rush Limbaugh’s Fear of a Black James Bond|Dean Obeidallah|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nobody bothered to tell Mister Ham about it until the following August.
The Stacks: Sell the Overcoat, Keep the Dignity|Paul Hemphill|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And he scarcely bothered to hide his chief ambition: to lead his country as prime minister.
Boris Johnson’s Churchill Man Crush|Michael F. Bishop|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“We are still very girly,” Jolly said, who is not bothered by the traditionally feminine nature of the trucks they drive.
The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture|Eliza Krigman|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sangree bothered her with no special attentions, and after all they were very little together.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
As I said, the place must be made to pay, that's the first point; the second is, that I am not to be bothered.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Yet, when I was a young man, I never bothered my head about royalty, but I was as full of wild fancies as a balloon is of wind.
The Whale and the Grasshopper|Seumas O'Brien
She liked well enough to have a friend drop in and talk to her when she was on duty, but she hated to be bothered about books.
Summer|Edith Wharton
Their footsteps, for they no longer bothered to tread silently, sounded like thunder in their ears.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O|Clair Blank

British Dictionary definitions for bother

bother

/ (ˈbɒðə) /

verb

(tr) to give annoyance, pain, or trouble to; irritatehis bad leg is bothering him again

(tr) to trouble (a person) by repeatedly disturbing; pesterstop bothering your father!

(intr) to take the time or trouble; concern oneselfdon't bother to come with me

(tr) to make (a person) alarmed or confusedthe thought of her husband's return clearly bothered her

noun

a state of worry, trouble, or confusion

a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance

informal a disturbance or fight; trouble (esp in the phrase a spot of bother)

interjection

mainly British an exclamation of slight annoyance

Word Origin for bother

C18: perhaps from Irish Gaelic bodhar deaf, vexed; compare Irish Gaelic buairim I vex

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bother

OTHER WORDS FOR bother

Origin of bother

synonym study for bother

OTHER WORDS FROM bother

Words related to bother

How to use bother in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bother

Word Origin for bother