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

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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”

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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

I plan to work less and parent more as my wife returns to a full-time office job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

“Their decisions to delay or reduce investments in critical projects are particularly troubling given the billions of dollars in profits reported by their parent companies in recent years,” Perez wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Asteroids such as Ryugu, Bennu, and the parent body of the Orgueil meteorite are remnants of the early Solar System.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026

Meta and Google parent Alphabet have launched their own fundraising plans on the public markets, and Oracle said Monday it was going ahead with a $20 billion plan despite doubts about its financial exposure.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Even though Hyperion’s true location is protected, anyone with a botanist for a parent would know about the famous tree.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

About half of his buyers had their parents involved, Cantore added.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

A former friend of Brand's was called to court to give evidence for the prosecution, while a statement from the parents of one of the women was heard.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

On a recent Saturday, Hieu woke up in the suburban two-bedroom apartment owned by his parents, who pull in about $10,000 a year, largely from his dad’s bank job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Texan Victor Bucio, 34, who can barely speak Spanish with his Mexican-born parents, is what Latinos call a 'no sabo.'

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

“Mark—his parents were supposed to come back this evening, but their flight was delayed until tomorrow night,” she says.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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Related Words

• father
• mother

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