mom
noun
a person’s mother or one’s mother.
mom
1 American
[mom]
/ mɒm /
noun
-
moms
plural
-
a person’s mother or one’s mother.
-
a term of endearment used to refer to a woman or girl who is admired: She came on stage at the beginning of the concert, and I was like, MOM.
Obviously she has no kids, but she is such a mom.
She came on stage at the beginning of the concert, and I was like, MOM.
All her friends call her “mom” even though she just started middle school.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to act as a mother toward; act maternally toward, sometimes in an excessive way: I think I just got mommed by my cat.
She just mommed me with advice.
I think I just got mommed by my cat.
She totally mommed those bullies.
-
to refer to (an admired woman or girl) as “mom”.
My friends mommed the selfie I just posted.
verb (used without object)
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to perform the tasks or duties of a female parent; act maternally, sometimes in an excessive way: She mommed out hard after I came home late.
I like the way she moms.
She mommed out hard after I came home late.
-
(of a woman or girl) to refer to an admired woman or girl as “mom”.
Whenever I comment on photos of my friends, I mom.
m.o.m.
2
American
abbreviation
mom
British
/ mɒm /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mom
First recorded in 1845–50; short for momma
Explanation
Mom is what many Americans call their mothers. Mothers with young children hear this word about 10,000 times a day, usually all in a row. Mom. Mom. Mom. You get the idea. Mom is a very common informal word in the U.S. for “mother,” shortened from momma or mommy, an even more childish nickname for your mother. If you’re talking directly to your mom, using “mom” like a name, capitalize it – "Hi, Mom!" If you’re talking about her or another mom, don’t – "Hi, other person’s mom." In other English-speaking parts of the world, people might use mum instead.
Vocabulary lists containing mom
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:
“My mom likes living in bubbles,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
But while in prison, he asked his mom to send him the military aptitude test, only to later realize he was ineligible because of the felony conviction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
“My mom raised us as super conservative, and he’s everything that she taught us to respect,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Or, as his mom calls it, “The nice man who answers all my questions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
It’s eerie sometimes how much I look like my mom.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
It would be great if “The Hangover” screenwriters-turned-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore would leave moms well enough alone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She is also considering whether mitochondrial DNA, which is generally inherited from the mother, could play a role "in transmitting information about maternal age from moms to offspring."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
None of the moms I work with do this.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
When Albano, a full-time content creator, posts her school supply hauls on social media, a deluge of messages come in from moms desperately asking Albano to donate items to their kids.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
Her short brown hair is the only thing that makes her look different from other moms at Poplar Springs Middle.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
