Mother Hubbard
Americannoun
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a full, loose gown, usually fitted at the shoulders, worn by women.
-
a character in a nursery rhyme.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Mother Hubbard
C19: after Mother Hubbard, a character in a nursery rhyme
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.
“Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard and there wasn’t nothing there,” he said earlier this month as the final stretch arrived before the early signing day Dec. 20.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
Margaret Brown, a pickpocket known as Old Mother Hubbard, was featured in an 1886 publication, Professional Criminals of North America.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 14, 2021
Had Old Mother Hubbard been able to check what Jim Mora left in UCLA's talent cupboard, we might have had college football's first nursery rhyme.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2018
We may be forced to live like Mother Hubbard.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2017
"We'll have the tableaux Black Prince, Joan of Arc, and Mother Hubbard, if mother will lend us the finery, and Sal will advise us what to do."
From Salome by Marshall, Emma
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.
