maternity
Americannoun
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the state of being a mother; motherhood.
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motherly quality; motherliness.
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a section of a hospital devoted to the care of women at childbirth and of their newborn infants.
adjective
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of, relating to, or for the period in which a woman is pregnant or has just given birth to a child.
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for mothers during and after childbirth or for the care of their newborn babies.
a maternity hospital.
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for wear by pregnant women.
maternity clothes.
noun
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motherhood
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the characteristics associated with motherhood; motherliness
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(modifier) relating to pregnant women or women at the time of childbirth
a maternity ward
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of maternity
1605–15; < Medieval Latin māternitās, equivalent to Latin mātern ( us ) ( see maternal) + -itās -ity
Explanation
Use the noun maternity to describe the relationship of a mother to her children. The state of maternity includes everything involved in becoming a mother, from being pregnant to giving birth to chasing a little kid around a playground. Adoptive mothers experience maternity too, since they are someone's mom. The word maternity comes from the Latin root mater, which means "mother," and it's related to the adjective maternal. You can mostly use the words maternity and motherhood interchangeably.
Vocabulary lists containing maternity
The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr
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It's All in the Family
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #8
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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.
An MP whose own experience of giving birth was part of the biggest review of maternity failings in NHS history has been appointed as the government's first maternity adviser.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
More than 100 maternity staff are taking legal action against a hospital trust after being exposed to "hazardous" levels of nitrous oxide.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Louisiana, which has serious gaps in access to maternity care, had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the nation last year.
From Slate • May 18, 2026
On moms.gov, there is no mention of paid maternity leave — or programs like Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
She was, Mia realized, buying Mia the maternity clothes she would have bought herself, and she smiled and accepted them, and wore the dress on her next visit.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
