maternity
Americannoun
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the state of being a mother; motherhood.
-
motherly quality; motherliness.
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
At the time, “having to ask for anything in the workplace other than a maternity leave was unheard of,” said McGrail, who was working for a public-relations firm in New York City.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026
Struggling after her return from maternity leave in July 2023, Osaka said she did not "feel like I'm in my body".
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
After briefly stepping away from tennis in 2021 to prioritise her mental health, Osaka took 15 months of maternity leave with daughter Shai.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
Jack repeated his calls for a statutory public inquiry into maternity services, in which witnesses would be compelled to give evidence.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026
But the head of the volunteers, a society lady at our church, took one look at me and said, "You're on maternity."
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
