mother figure

American  

[muhth-er fig-yer] / ˈmʌð ər ˌfɪg jər /

noun

mother figures plural

1. an emotional substitute for one's mother, especially one who fulfills parental functions such as protection, authority, support, etc.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mother figures
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mother figure

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Helping your mother figure out how she got into this mess is not tantamount to becoming emotionally enmeshed in her problems.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 27, 2026

She could not have known it would fuse her into the public’s consciousness as a devoted mother figure.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

Like that earlier work, “The Thanksgiving Visitor” is also drawn from Capote’s boyhood within a clan of eccentric relatives that included an older cousin and mother figure known as Sook.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

"Once you hit 30, you couldn't land a leading role. If you were over 35, you were often typecast as the mother figure in a family," she says.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2023

With me as the worried mother figure who consoled him over bad breakups, and him as the sensitive kid who listened and supported me through my meltdowns.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi