definitions

mother lode

or moth·er·lode

[ muhth-er-lohd ]
/ ˈmʌð ərˌloʊd /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mother lode ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Mining. a rich or important lode.
a major or profitable source or supply: New York City is a mother lode of actors.

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RELATED WORDS

bonanza, lode, Eldorado

Nearby words

mother hen, mother house, mother hubbard, mother language, mother liquor, mother lode, mother nature, mother of, mother of coal, mother of god, mother of parliaments

Origin of mother lode

First recorded in 1855–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mother lode

  • Everybody in the cavern smiled, and I daresay if the truth were known we had discovered the mother-lode of comedy.

    Caves of Terror|Talbot Mundy

  • His hopes of reaching the mother-lode of this mine vanished.

    Panther Eye|Roy J. Snell

  • The day following his locating of the mother-lode, Pant worked feverishly.

    Panther Eye|Roy J. Snell

British Dictionary definitions for mother lode

mother lode

noun

mining the principal lode in a system
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012