parent

American  

[pair-uhnt, par-] / ˈpɛər ənt, ˈpær- /

noun

• parents
  plural

1. a father or a mother.

2. an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor.

3. a source, origin, or cause.

4. a protector or guardian.

5. Biology. any organism that produces or generates another.

6. Physics. the first nuclide in a radioactive series.

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adjective

1. being the original source.

   a parent organization.

2. Biology. pertaining to an organism, cell, or complex molecular structure that generates or produces another.

   parent cell;

   parent DNA.

verb (used with object)

1. to be or act as parent of.

   to parent children with both love and discipline.

parent British  

/ ˈpɛərənt /

noun

1. a father or mother

2. a person acting as a father or mother; guardian

3. rare an ancestor

4. a source or cause

5. 1. an organism or organization that has produced one or more organisms or organizations similar to itself

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent organism

6. physics chem

   1. a precursor, such as a nucleus or compound, of a derived entity

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent nucleus

      a parent ion

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonparent
  noun
• parenthood
  noun
• parentless
  adjective
• parentlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parent

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin parent-, stem of parēns, noun use of present participle of parere “to bring forth, breed”

Explanation

A parent is a mother or father. Your mom and your dad are your parents, and one of their jobs is to parent you. We're all born to parents, and many of us also have step parents, foster parents, or adoptive parents who parent us. You might also use parent to talk about plants and animals; maybe your new puppy's parents were dog show champions, for example. Things that act as the source or owner of something else are also parents, like a parent company that owns the local bookshop. The Latin root is parere, "give birth to, produce."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parent parents

Its chief, Demis Hassabis, stepped aside last month to become chairman of Google DeepMind and chief scientist of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

When a teen’s Uber trip begins, the parent or guardian linked to the account will receive a push notification if livestreaming is available.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

A parent or legal guardian can open and manage an account on the minor’s behalf, or a probate court can appoint a guardian or conservator, or set up a restricted account, depending on state law.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Crosbie said that in one incident, a parent approached a league official "aggressively" after being asked to move away from an area beside the pitch reserved for players and team staff.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Jews were not allowed to join the Hitler Youth, not even a Mischling, or “half-breed” child who had one non-Jewish parent, no matter how Aryan the child looked.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Kander’s parents were of English and Bavarian-Jewish descent and were founding members of Milwaukee’s largest Reform synagogue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Last week, AP reported that Omaha police agreed to stop using the shock gloves after parents realized they’d been adopted by departments that monitored schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The panel of doctors, academics, youth representatives and parents recommended no screens at all for babies and toddlers, and that children up to 12 should only be allowed "age-appropriate social media" under adult supervision.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

While I’d sooner take life advice from my golden retriever than a chatbot, my parents aligned with their contemporaries in treating Claude as a Google substitute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

My parents and I didn’t discuss personal things—about feelings.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• father
• mother