mother lode
Americannoun
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Mining. a rich or important lode.
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a major or profitable source or supply.
New York City is a mother lode of actors.
noun
Etymology
Origin of mother lode
First recorded in 1855–60
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.
The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly—the local version of a city council—saw a mother lode of opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
But it could be a mother lode for small and large local news outlets, providing $500 million a year to preserve and grow local newsrooms.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024
“What a mess we’ve created for ourselves,” said Emily Talen, a professor of urbanism at the University of Chicago who has studied zoning, or “the mother lode of city rules.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2023
TV stations continued to mine the mother lode of old movies.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2022
He took a peek into the bag—whoa—a fly mother lode!
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
