mothering

American  

[muhth-er-ing] / ˈmʌð ər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the nurturing of a child by a mother or in the way that a mother does.

   I'm so relieved to be finally able to do the mothering of my children in my own home.

2. the act of caring for or protecting like a mother, sometimes in an excessive way.

   Even though her cold wasn't better yet, she was getting tired of his mothering.

3. (in rural England) the custom of visiting one's parents on Laetare Sunday with a present.

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Etymology

Origin of mothering

First recorded in 1640–50; mother ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

“Kin,” set in the segregated South in the 1950s and ’60s, focuses on the crucial importance of mothering, sisterhood and close female friendships in young women’s lives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

There’s a mothering energy that we need more than ever right now, that every single person can unleash in their communities, families and local governments, whether or not they have children.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2025

"I have always had a mothering instinct," she says, "but for years I had been suppressing it because it was too painful to go there."

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2025

As my husband says sympathetically, "It's got to be hard being you," always mothering and worrying over creatures you cannot in any way save or control.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2023

Her voice was no longer tremulous; it carried the authoritative note sharpened by long years of mothering a large family.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt