mamma
1 Americannoun
noun
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mammae
plural
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Anatomy, Zoology. a structure, characteristic of mammals, that comprises one or more mammary glands with an associated nipple or teat, usually rudimentary unless developed and activated for the secretion of milk in the female after the birth of young.
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Meteorology. the hanging protuberances of a mammatus, on the undersurface of a thunderstorm cloud.
The mamma in this formation are distinctly ominous.
noun
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Also: momma. another word for mother 1
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informal a buxom and voluptuous woman
noun
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the milk-secreting organ of female mammals: the breast in women, the udder in cows, sheep, etc
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(functioning as plural) breast-shaped protuberances, esp from the base of cumulonimbus clouds
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mamma
First recorded before 1050; Middle English, from Latin: “breast, teat” (whence Old English mamme “teat”); see mamma 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The mamma centipede may have a face like a David Cronenberg nightmare, but she's a devoted parent, curling around the wriggly bits of multi-legged spaghetti she calls her offspring to protect them.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
She claims she even uses words and mannerisms such as "mamma mia", "bambino" and "si" in conversation without realising it.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
“And to defend the right of her mamma and papa to do all that they can for her.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2023
“No mamma must be forced to interrupt nursing to return to work, no women should be denied this possibility,” she said.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
He often comes to see us, and he and mamma get on very well together; they have so many things to talk about in common.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
They were the descendants of the reptiles but they were quite unlike these because they fed their young from the "mammae" or the breasts of the mother.
From The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
Spines set in a tuft of white hairs, falling off from the lowest mammae, as happens in many of the thick-stemmed kinds.
Too, sylvaticus typically has 1-2=6 mammae although Allen reports finding a 2-2=8 formula in some specimens.
From Comments on the Taxonomic Status of Apodemus peninsulae, with Description of a New Subspecies from North China by J. Knox Jones
The stem is ridged with rows of fleshy mammae or tubercles, which are curiously humped, and each bears a cluster of spreading, brown spines, 1 in. long.
In the axils of the mammae are tufts of white wool.
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
